Increases in national residential property values spreading out from Auckland and Canterbury, QV says, with increased confidence across most of country

Quotable Value (QV) says nationwide residential property values have picked up in 2013 where they left off in 2012, and are now 2.6% above the previous late 2007 market peak with rises now spreading beyond Auckland and Canterbury.

Government valuer QV says its latest monthly property value index, for January, shows nationwide residential values rose 1.5% over the past three months and 6.2% over the past year, meaning they're 2.6% above the previous market peak of late 2007.

"It has been a relatively strong start to the year for the property market, carrying on from the increased activity we saw in late 2012. There has been plenty of buyer enquiry and sales activity throughout January at a time when people are usually still in holiday mode," said QV research director Jonno Ingerson.

“The increase in nationwide values is no longer solely being driven by Auckland and Canterbury. Over the last month or two values have also begun rising again in most of the other main cities and provincial centres. While the rate of value increase is not as fast as Auckland and Canterbury it does signal an increase in confidence across most of the country."

Ingerson also pointed to a lack of properties for sale, saying this will continue to constrain sales volumes.

"The number of new listings coming onto the market has been fairly stable since 2009 and well below the levels seen at the peak of the market. Now that sales volumes have picked up the number of properties currently for sale has also dropped to very low levels. This leads to reduced buyer choice, and means that well presented properties tend to sell quickly. The overall result is upward pressure on prices,” said Ingerson.

Barfoot & Thompson, Auckland's biggest real estate agent, last week said it had 3,763 properties on its books. That's 10.4% higher than December's record low of 3,410, but 21% lower than 4,766 in January last year. Listings represent 18 weeks of sales at the January rate, a relatively low level historically.

Auckland City 16% up on 2007

QV says values in the wider Auckland area are now 12.4% above the 2007 peak, led by old Auckland City which is 15.9% above the 2007 mark. This is after a 10.2% rise over the past year and a 3% increase over the last three months.

"Old Auckland City and North Shore continue to have the steepest increases over the past 12 months, up 11.1% and 10.2% respectively, with Manukau and Waitakere close behind, up 9.7% and 9.2% respectively," QV said.

QV operations manager Kerry Stewart said west Auckland had been very active over the last six weeks with areas like New Lynn, Titirangi and Te Atatu in demand. Subdivisions in Henderson, Swanson and Massey are also "surging" ahead.

"Generally we are seeing a lot of first home buyers active with investors also starting to look," Stewart added.

“In Central Auckland we have seen houses priced over $2 million start to stabilise, with many selling after auction. This is in contrast to properties under $1 million which are still sought after, often selling prior to auction or having their auction dates moved forward due to keen buyer interest,” said Stewart.

Elsewhere QV said values in Hamilton are 3.7% above last year and have risen 1% over the past three months. In Tauranga property values increased throughout the middle of 2012 before dropping towards the end of the year and are down 1% on last year.

Values in the Wellington area are up 0.6% over the past three months and 1.8% higher over the past year.

Of Wellington, QV Valuer Pieter Geill said: "Over the past few weeks there have been a good number of properties come onto the market. Houses that haven’t sold over winter are also now starting to sell. We have had increased instances of people needing insurance valuations at the request of their provider due to policy changes, as well as people looking for advice on sales prices.”

Christchurch 6% up on 2007

Christchurch values are up 7.1% over the last 12 months and 2.4% over the past three months. Christchurch values are now 6.3% above the 2007 market peak.

Of Christchurch, QV Valuer Daryl Taggart said: “The market seems to be picking up again after a quiet period over Christmas. Although there continues to be strong demand from first home buyers and investors at the lower end of the market, we are seeing good sales and activity towards the top end now as well.”

“A lot of building activity throughout the city is underway, repairing earthquake damaged properties, with some new houses now ready to move into. The least unaffected areas as well as outlying areas continue to have strong appeal, with Cashmere and Westmoreland particularly showing strong sales volumes lately,” said Taggart.

Dunedin values are up 1.1% over the last three months and 2.7%  over the past year.

Meanwhile, QV said most of the main provincial centres have remained stable with slight increases in value over the past three months.

"Most are only seeing increases of around 1-1.5% within the past three months, with the exceptions being Rotorua, down 1.7% and Queenstown Lakes, down 0.6%. Areas like Nelson and Central Hawke’s Bay are increasing more so, up 2.0% and 2.9% respectively over the past three months."

See QV's full release here and its value index here.