Auckland’s Point Chevalier has a new title it probably isn’t too keen on holding as the New Zealand suburb to decrease most in value in the past three months.
The median value in the popular peninsula suburb has fallen 4.6 per cent, or NZ$104,400.
It’s one of 486 suburbs across New Zealand to record a fall in prices in the past three months, almost double the 246 suburbs that saw a decrease in the preceding three-month period, according to CoreLogic NZ data.
CoreLogic NZ Chief Property Economist Kelvin Davidson said the interactive Mapping the Market tool, which provides an insight into how the value of property varies across cities, showed a timely view of the market’s recent downturn.
“The signs of weakness are very clear,” he said.
“At the headline level, 323 suburbs have seen values drop by at least one per cent over the past three months, with a further 163 suburbs recording value falls of less than one per cent, meaning a touch more than half (51 per cent) of all suburbs have now entered a downswing.
“When looking at the largest value falls, 11 suburbs declined by five per cent or more, including parts of Auckland, Dunedin, Upper Hutt, Lower Hutt, and Porirua.
“In dollar terms, the largest drop in the past three months has been in Auckland’s Point Chevalier where the median value fell $104,400 (4.6 per cent fall).”
But as is often the case in a changing market, while some suburbs saw a drop in value, others experienced a climb.
Just under 300 suburbs recorded a rise in values of at least one per cent, with 23 suburbs notching up a gain of more than five per cent.
“The larger gains of five per cent or more tend to be in our smaller areas, including parts of Waikato District, Far North, Southland District, Central Otago District, but also a handful in main centres – Beerescourt and Baverstock in Hamilton, Wiri in Auckland, as well as Luggate in Queenstown Lakes District,” Mr Davidson said.
“There’s certainly evidence of volatility across the NZ market, and we’ll have a clearer picture of which suburbs have been impacted the most in the coming months.
“But what is clear today is that value falls are now fairly broad-based, both geographically and by value band/tier.”
Auckland
In the North Island’s biggest city, 119 out of 206 suburbs have recorded falls in the median property value of at least one per cent since March.
Conversely, only 24 suburbs have seen price rise at least one per cent.
“Along with Point Chevalier, Pakuranga Heights and New Windsor also saw median values fall by at least $90,000 in the past three months,” Mr Davidson said.
“Herne Bay is still Auckland’s most expensive suburb, albeit values have dipped one per cent since March.”
Hamilton
Hamilton has also seen more than 50 per cent of its suburbs drop in value by one per cent or more, with Hamilton Lake, Hillcrest, and Flagstaff down more than four per cent.
In contrast, the prime riverside suburbs of Beerescourt and Baverstock have seen increases of more than five per cent.
Tauranga
“Tauranga’s market is still holding up a bit better than elsewhere,” Mr Davidson said.
“Only Parkvale and Gate Pa have seen falls of one per cent or more since March. Indeed, areas such as Tauranga (suburb) and Papamoa have continued to rise by two per cent in the past three months.”
Wellington
Mr Davidson said the emerging weakness of the wider Wellington property market could clearly be seen at suburb level.
“Only Lyall Bay and Wellington Central have recorded gains of one per cent or more since March,” he said.
“By contrast, 64 out of 97 suburbs saw falls of at least one per cent, with five having drops of at least five per cent (including Petone and Alicetown).”
Seatoun remains the most expensive suburb in Wellington with a median value of NZ$2.13 million, but even this is down 1.3 per cent since March.
Christchurch
The Garden City’s property market has generally been resilient in recent months, with only four out of 85 suburbs recording a median value drop of at least one per cent, including Kennedys Bush and Beckenham.
By contrast, 31 suburbs have seen values continue to grow by at least one per centin the past three months.
Scarborough is the city’s priciest suburb, with a median value of $1.64 million.
Dunedin
Dunedin’s market has definitely turned down, with the median value in 45 out of 62 suburbs dropping by at least one per cent. The biggest falls were recorded in Brockville (5.7 per cent) and The Glen (5.4 per cent).
