Record High for New Zealand Property Prices

Property prices in New Zealand hit a new record high in November, according to the latest figures from the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ).

The record high of $575,000 indicated a rise of 6.5 per cent from the average figure of $540,000 in the same month last year.

When the largest New Zealand property market of Auckland was excluded the rise was even larger in the rest of the country, up by 7.8 per cent to a record high of $485,000 from $450,000 in November 2017.

Auckland property prices actually dropped by 1.5 per cent on an annual basis to $867,000 from $800,000 last year, though were up by 0.3 per cent on a monthly basis.

Six regions in New Zealand achieved a record high average price during November. In Northland prices were up 21.2 per cent to $515,000, in Waikato they were up 8 per cent to $529,000, while Hawke’s Bay saw a rise of 11.9 per cent to $470,000, Wellington saw a rise of 11.5 per cent to $613,000, Tasmania a rise of 19.2 per cent to $645,000 and Southland a rise of 3.8 per cent to $275,000.

14 of the 16 regions in New Zealand saw prices rise on an annual basis, the only exceptions being the fall of 1.5 per cent in Auckland and a fall of 3.3 per cent in Canterbury. Of those 14 regions experiencing annual increases, seven of them saw double digit increases showing the strength of the market.

On a regional basis the largest annual increases in sales was a rise of 39.3 per cent in Gisborne, followed by the West Coast up 28.6 per cent, Bay of Plenty up 17.4 per cent, and Marlborough up 12 per cent.

REINZ chief executive, Bindi Norwell, said:’ For two months in a row now we’ve seen record median prices set for New Zealand driven by extremely strong growth in some of the regions where demand for good properties continues to outstrip supply.’

She continued: ‘There were some standout results for a couple of the regions with Gisborne’s sales the highest number of properties sold in one month for 12 years and Taranaki’s sales the highest number of properties sold in a month since March 2007 showing the buoyancy in some of these popular regions.’

With record high rises, overseas property investors interested in New Zealand in 2019 may want to choose their region carefully.