Lockdowns have done little to dampen buyer demand in New Zealand where house values have reached a new high.
According to the QV October 2021 House Price Index, the average home value in New Zealand has now surpassed $1 million for the very first time.
The latest data shows the average home value increased 5.3 per cent nationally over the three-month period to the end of October, up from 3.6 per cent quarterly growth recorded in September.
That puts the average national value of a New Zealand home at $1,002,153.
The QV report noted this represented an increase of 27 per cent year-on-year.
QV general manager, David Nagel said despite COVID-19 and its potential impact on the New Zealand economy, there were still buyers who were keen to commit to property transactions.
“Credit availability continues to tighten as banks respond to RBNZ concerns around property market stability, particularly with interest rates on the rise. But a continued lack of supply has resulted in a resurgence in prices across all 16 metro locations we monitor,” he said.
“A reported flood of new listings will provide some welcome relief for house hunters.
“With interest rates rising faster than most initially expected, there appears to be an element of panic buying from those who have been in the market for a property for some time, keen to lock in a mortgage rate that’s still at historically low levels,” he added.
The QV report found the strongest value gains for the main cities over the past three months came from Christchurch at 10 per cent growth in value, up from 7.7 per cent value growth last month.
Christchurch was followed by Queenstown Lakes District at 9.6 per cent growth, building further on the strong three-monthly rate of growth of 9.4 per cent that QV reported last month.
None of the 16 major urban areas QV monitors saw a decline in average value, with all but Palmerston North and Napier at 3.7 per cent and 5.1 per cent respectively, showing an increase in the rate of three-monthly growth since last month.
The report indicated the Manawatū-Whanganui region continued to be the strongest growing region with 34.7 per cent growth over the past year.
It was closely followed by the Canterbury region at 34.1 per cent, while the Hawke’s Bay and greater West Coast regions have experienced annual growth of 33.9 per cent and 32.7 per cent respectively.
The three lowest annual growth rates were all in the South Island, with the Southland region experiencing a still-significant 20.4 per cent increase, the Tasman region recording 22.1 per cent growth, and Otago at 24.4 per cent annual growth.
