The average value of homes is continuing to decline in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch as the housing market continues to cool.
According to Quotable Value, the average value of all homes in the Auckland region was $1,041,957 in August, down from $1,044,303 in July and $1,045,059 in June.
That suggests Auckland property prices are slowly deflating following the substantial reduction in the volume of homes being sold since late last year. The latest Real Estate Institute of New Zealand figures showed Auckland sales volumes down 30.6% in July.
The decline is affecting most parts of Auckland, with the average value of homes falling for at least two months in a row in Rodney, North Shore, Waitakere, Papakura, and Franklin.
In Central Auckland the average value rose in July compared to June but dropped back in August. In Manukau it rose in August compared to July, but remained below where it was in June.
However the average value in Auckland is still up 2.8% compared to August last year.
Average values in Wellington and Christchurch are also slowly declining.
In the Wellington region the average value of all homes has fallen for two months in a row, down from $609,552 in June to $605,435 in August.
The average value of Christchurch homes is also slowly falling, dropping from $496,378 in June to $493,069 in August.
However average values are still rising in many other centres, including Hamilton; Tauranga, Napier, New Plymouth, Nelson, Timaru, Dunedin and Queenstown.
That pushed the average values of all homes throughout New Zealand up marginally to $641,648 in August from $641,280 in July.
"Quarterly value growth has dropped across the Auckland and Wellington regions but values rose in most other parts of the North Island including Hamilton and Tauranga," QV national spokesperson Andrea Rush said.
"Value growth is particularly strong in the Hawke's Bay, South Wairarapa and Masterton markets, which continue to benefit from those moving out of Auckland and Wellington looking for more affordable housing and better lifestyles.
"Values are flat or decreasing in most parts of Christchurch, while Dunedin value growth has slowed to 0.5% over the past quarter," Rush said.
Here are the regional summaries:
Auckland
Strong sales for well maintained homes in good locations are still being achieved, however sale prices have dropped in some areas compared to what was being achieved during 2016, particularly in outer suburbs," QV Auckland registered valuer James Steele said.
"Lower demand for new builds in larger subdivisions in areas such as Flat Bush and Albany has seen asking prices discounted, particularly in areas where speculators were previously active.
"in the first home market, homes under $750,000 are in high demand and buyers appear not so concerned with the location of the property, as long as it's in their price range."
Hamilton
The Hamilton market has remained relatively subdued over the past month with listings staying on the market for a longer period of time and fewer properties going to auction," QV Hamilton valuer Stephen Hare said.
"We are now starting to see some properties sell for under the listing price, indicating less demand and more opportunities to negotiate.
"We are also starting to see a a dip in sale prices for mid-to-high priced properties, mainly in the Flagstaff area.
"However there's still evidence that desirable and well presented homes are continuing to sell above asking prices.
"The market continues to be void of investment buyers, which is freeing up space for first home buyers who were previously struggling to compete with investors.
"This is resulting in a good supply of low to mid-range price bracketed properties on the market.
Tauranga
"The market in Tauranga and Western Bay of Plenty is currently stable, with the panic buying of 2015/16 now having given way to a more subdued approach from buyers," QV Tauranga registered valuer David Hume said.
"Investors are definitely much less active in the market than they were during the previous two years."
Wellington
"Property values in Wellington City have largely flat lined over the last three months while Porirua and the Hutt Valley have seen only modest value growth," QV Wellington registered valuer David Cornford said.
"A lack of homes for sale has resulted in strong competition for well presented properties, particularly in desirable locations and these are achieving good prices.
"Overall, we are seeing a relatively stable market across the board in Wellington, which is very under supplied.
Christchurch
Christchurch City values continue to plateau, rising just 0.1% year on year, and they decreased slightly by 0.4% over the past three months, QV said in its August report.
"This is because there is less demand in the market currently.
"Spring is traditionally a good time to sell property, so moving into the season it's possible that there may be increased activity.
"However this is unlikely to spur increased value growth."
Dunedin
"Dunedin residential property values continue to rise but at a slower rate than earlier in the year with quarterly growth having slowed to 0.5% over the winter months," QV Dunedin registered valuer Aidan Young said.
"For those properties on the market there is strong demand with multi-offer scenarios still common."
Click on the link below to download QV's average residential property values throughout the country:
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107 Comments
Strong sales for well maintained homes in Auckland Central. It seems to support what I cited for last weeks Auction in the Eastern Bays (1071). I don't doubt we will see a pull back at some stage, maybe even shortly, but this is following a well worn path. When the market is declining, volume dries up and it's second tier property selling most.
Not sure if this link will work. A few 1050 properties in there. 73 Arney Road sold for $4,010,000 http://intraapps.barfoot.co.nz/Includes/_pdf/GetPDF.asp?Title=AuctionRe…
A funny happened in the Auckland housing market. Lots of immigrants still arrive but house prices going down, how could that possibly be???
I wonder (I don't really, I pretty certain) if the halt of capital flight from one particular country could have anything to do with it??? Timing seems to fit. Admit it, we have been lied to about the level of foreign buying in this country for nine years.
The latest Reserve Bank figures show household debt has topped $250b, driven by rising property prices and an increase in consumer borrowing. That's an increase of more than 60 per cent in 10 years. Our national debt has topped half a trillion dollars and is still rising. The grand total of $528.7 billion is up 7.3 per cent from a year ago. Household debt remains at levels that worry the Reserve Bank and leaves us vulnerable to the risk of a housing market crash or international financial crisis.
(Herald - and, yes, we all know....)
or maybe the fact that NZ property investors ( the largest share of the market) are now borrowing 50% of what they were 18 months ago is causing it - and not a few overseas buyers, ?
FHB's borrowing is fairly constant , borrowing to move from one home to another is again stable although slightly down -- its NZ property investors (speculators)that have stopped buying especially the mum and dad types - who cant make the 40% level and are more vulnerable to any drop in prices
I think its fair to say they have got their heads around it - and a very large number are clearly acting on it and not buying property!
Overseas buyers borrowed money mainly from there own country that's why there government is worried if prices go down here, also they started the bubble and yes have been largely gone for the last year, I guess the big question is is all this property worth all this dept, credit ,the person with the property versus the dept, every month the figures in housing will change as the 12th month ago falls off , markets feed on themselves going up as well as down, hopefully we find demand soon
"Admit it, we have been lied to about the level of foreign buying in this country for nine years."
PocketAces you are 100% correct.
The audience in the auction rooms knew who the buyers were, the RE agents knew who the buyers were, and the auctioneers knew who the buyers were.
The fact we were so blatantly lied to is the main reason I want National out this election. I'm not sure what Labour will be like, but they will struggle to be more dishonest than National have been over the last 9 years.
Who's blaming foreigners, all most people have said is overseas investors pushing up the market then locals investors carried on and run up large dept and now to a point where's theres to much dept and unaffordable killing demand which everyone can see and you yourself said a sharp decline in investment borrowing, 3 main things have stopped the demand to buy, the Chinese government stopping money leaving there country for here in CASH, to much dept , unaffordability , the fix, LVRs , and the stopping of overseas investors with more money than the locals on there wages trying to buy a house, facts isn't being racist, it's usually the person who always seems to bring it up is racist , and stop blaming the LVRs as they are the problem, everything else is the problemS and LVRs are ONE part of the reason the boom has ended, the fix
Of course we've been lied to , government gets figures from where they need to suit there best interests, these immigrants and kids have no money, all they are are renters and more than willing to squeeze 20 in a house fulling the streets with cars, And guess what, if these immigrants end up staying in Auckland earning the same money as the locals already here, they'll be the same FHBers that we already have that can't afford Auckland, making the problem 10 times worse, the overseas large amounts of money is gone, 90% of the demand for housing is gone , mostly high end but % wise the super expensive is few and far between so as the medium to above medium comes down so will that in the end, if Epsom comes down that'll be the new "place to be"
user123, you keep saying what you're saying mate,the lies and stupidity of national YES was the course of this housing bubble from hell , that was the problem and worthy of a comment, LVRs are just the way the RB is trying to fix nationals stupidity, the RB should have stepped in years ago, that's there job, all LVR s are are to little to late, and some are hopeful if stopped will automatically turn the market from a high to even higher, good luck with that brainless idea, some a surely desperate, should of sold and put the problem on to someone else
Rob ,Government will try and get a better deal around LVRs for FHBers , that's all , not the 40% for investors, everyone , government, RB, banks are fully aware that prices are to high and by letting them naturally drop will help the people of Auckland, but FHBers need to get things up and running, there's no hurry to put DTI restrictions in place because its extremely hard to stop a falling market anyway considering high dept levels and so many naturally staying out of the market, but DTI restrictions will be good to stop this happening again from a affordable level and up again
Sharetrader, and DTI restrictions, both party's are trying to keep a straight face about not wanting the market to come down to help affordability and not needing DTI restrictions but after the election you watch who ever gets in will turn a blind eye, wasn't me , with demand gone, the best thing for government, banks , RE, is get the market down to where it needs demand to pick up as soon as possible so things can start improving, it's only invisible prices anyway, ok you thought your house was worth x but now its y , the longer the down turn the worse things will get and DTI restrictions don't serve a purpose at the top of a boom , it's to late, they're need to stop it happening again but would be easier to make law now, also I believe if we had a good DTI restriction in place , interest rates would stay low for all industries and stop land banking which would bring down section prices , win win
Agreed with you Penguin. For example this non-DGZ, semi-dettached, cross-lease, possibly leaky, plaster-clad house sold yesterday for $1,510,000 (CV $1,100,000) and it is still 37% over the CV! http://rwremuera.co.nz/auckland/remuera/1107-upland-road-17669311/
Foreign and domestic speculation dead in its tracks. Gravity can work once artificial rocket boosters stop. Good well maintain housing in central locations should hold up, unless the bank requires capital from somewhere. Many a specuvestment portfolio is stacked on top of a nice central family home.
A whole new rugged landscape for specuvestment is coming, vs the soft fluffy pillow they have enjoyed under National. Ban on overseas ownership, significant reduction in immigration, cap gains extension/compulsion, loss ring fencing, and new tenancy protections. Specuvestors will be starting to ask why the hell they are taking the risk for.
21 Days to go. Vote for ongoing bank profits and support of specuvestor debt and tax offset, or vote for averagman tax paying kiwis. Simple choice really.
Just how great was nz as a hole from 2008 to 2014 after that last bubble, and that was no where near the dept we have now, I think the elephant in the room is the Chinese pulling out of the market in mass if there capital gains drop to much, they moved in mass on there stock market, sorry we are told overseas investors were a small%, thats why the whole country wasn't talking about it, 3% a, you wouldnt notice that in the auction rooms or your street sales
What the article says about Hawkes Bay showing strong growth is true, particularly in the Parklands and Te Awa developments where new properties going on to the market are sold within just a few days of being listed. Last year you could get a new / near-new 200+sqm 4-bed / 2-lounge / 2-bathroom home on a flat section of 600+ sqm for around 550K. Prices have moved fast and good luck getting a home of that spec for under 700K today.... still, it's a better deal than the big smoke. Properties with these specs are typically sold within days of going live - it's amazing to see the for sale sign go up one day replaced by a sold sign 48 - 72 hours later! The open homes in Parklands in particular are a frenzy. It's like Auckland was 2 years ago. Most buyers seem to be owner-occupiers and many are, just as the article says, relocating from Auckland or Wellington. I do notice in the last few months that more Chinese are attending open homes here in Napier.
You had me Greg at Auckland prices continuing to decline.....then I read that the average price is down a whopping $2346 from the previous month......I'm straight off to the bank to make that saving on my new cheap purchase! This Saving of $2-3 per week on interest payments will make a big difference.
Nothing to see here...
It's going to be really interesting to watch what happens to all those paper millionaires in central Auckland without all that lovely cash rolling in for Asia.
Guess they're going to hit reality with a bit of a bump if the latest auction results are anything to go by. We all know that both the locals and new immigrants can't afford those massively over inflated prices.
Do you see now why we need that Foreign Buyers Tax to stop this false economy from happening again.
By eliminating competition from foreign money local investors will be able to corner the rental market. And when foreign money is eliminated it will suppress the building of new houses and then local investors will be able to charge more rent on their existing stock.
I agree rent will go up in Auckland only, but at the same time prices of houses going down because the only buyers left at the moment are FHBers , at some point don't ask me when, FHBers will start buying and banks will let them, investors that brought high will be hiding from there bank manager for the next 10 years, new property investors might start back, and if immigration stays as high as now and Aucklanders no longer leaving Auckland because they can't sell the population should finally start going up , the big money from overseas investors will be gone but things should start improving overall
Central Auckland house prices remain remarkably solid. (Even apartment prices are holding up reasonably well there.)
This point is alluded to above, as well as in CoreLogic's latest commentary.
Locations that are close to the Auckland CBD remain highly sought-after - and that's not about to change. Owning freehold (fee simple) land in the inner city suburbs is a gilt-edged investment.
My view is that it's due largely to the convenience factor - avoiding transport/traffic frustrations in a city that's population is growing by 900 people each week.
Totally agreed! A house near Mike Hosking at 73 Arney Rd just sold for over $4M a week ago https://www.barfoot.co.nz/599967 and it's 45% over the CV of $2.8M. The fact is that home owners in this affluent suburb don't have to sell at all, so whether it is paper millionaire or cash millionaire it's totally irrelevant.
You're missing a few items there that applies to my part of 1071 e.g. low density, close to beaches, parks, waterfront bistros and cafes, Police helicopter flies over and doesn't linger. Strong percentage of homes are owner-occupier with little/no mortgage. Minimal crime. True it's heaven's holding pen, but the plus side is that once people are living here they tend to stay until they drop. The value of their homes is irrelevant to most as they are not moving on or mortgaging them.
The last one that forecast that with 'certainty' was, Bernard Hickey He expected my house bought at $900,000 in 2009 to drop 30% to $630,000. Instead it increased 144% to $2,200,000. Listening to him would have cost me $1,300,000. Humour me with a value forecast and date and I'll put in my diary to revert on. We can use the homes.co.nz value at that date.
So are you selling up to recognise that paper wealth? And if you do, where are you going to buy at a cheaper price to feel that you've benefited in some way from the price increases across the country? Or have you spent some of it on a new audi, boat and overseas holiday?
That is exactly what I'm thinking about my own family home. The value is irrelevant coz it's a home for life. There have been memories, happiness and lots and lots of intangible factors that have been put into the home, not to mention no mortgage and it's only 4km from the CBD. Why am I selling and who are these people to tell me to sell my home?
I'm just trying figure out whether DGZ likes to hype up the price of rentals or family homes. Because he tells us that the two things are very different, but the price of a family home is irrelevant because of the benefits of home ownership. So is there a secret sign or something on houses that differentiates them between being a family home and a rental? That way it's clear that if it's a family home the value is irrelevant...But if it's a rental it must must sell at least 150% over CV - which is typically the content of every second post he/she/it makes on this site....
The value for a family home is irrelevant only if you plan to live in it for life and you don't have a mortgage on it hence you are not being pressured to sell it when shit hits the fan. Just like what Ex Expat and I have posted above. And yes, I do plan to sell my rentals in the future for 150% over CV but you're talking about around 20 years from now...
We have a problem. I wanted to pick 48 Kildare Avenue in Glendowie as it sold at Auction on 23/8, but homes.co.nz was nowhere near the actual sales price. It sold for $130,000 over their high estimate, reaching 153% of CV. Otherwise it was perfect as it is a similar area and value to my home. It even had a 2009 sale price. As for the period suggested, who looks at house prices in six months timeframes? I'm talking preferably just before the next election for comparative conditions.
Meanwhile if you had just taken that $900,000 and put it into the NZ Sharemarket (just the NZX50) you would now have a share portfolio worth $2,800,000. So listening to you would have cost me $600,000. Of course you have had to pay rates, maintenance, insurance etc in the meantime further lowering your returns. Point is - there has been massive asset value appreciation since the depths of the GFC everywhere you look. This is not just about prime-location Auckland property.
More data to digest. Wednesday results for B&T http://intraapps.barfoot.co.nz/Includes/_pdf/GetPDF.asp?Title=AuctionRe…
Yes and it's going to get even more painful once the anti money laundering regulations fully kick in. Typical of National to delay it until as long as possible.
That will take out most of the top end buyers. Time to let prices drop to affordable levels in this very broken market.
Yawn that graph is hardly what you call a "Crash". Can we start talking about something other than house prices here its getting pretty boring. Have made S%&T load on my house, it was solely taking the decision to buy and not to rent and thats all it was, time to move on to something new. Some people here have a truly sad life when all they can talk about is what stupid price the house up the road just sold for. Time to move on.
Want a stupid comment Yvil, it's normal to see people that don't understand and can't see the big picture, over 12 months the trend is down, houses are taking longer to sell , we have just gone up and now we are going down, that simple enough for you, we average corrections every 6 years, APPROXIMATELY, 6 on a upturn and 4 down or low if you like, the last one was with labour from 2002 to 2008 of up then down and low from 2008 to 2014, Auckland may have picked up a little earlier, theres many reasons the world booms and busts , normally credit and dept
There's facts and there's facts, like commenting about 1 house that sells for 4 million or one suburb has a few sales, the big picture is caring about the majority of the people and giving them good sound advice, not don't worry focks she'll be right, if the markets high the markets high, if in general for the masses of FHBers could be under water by buying now with a 20% deposit , DONT BUY NOW, wait, pay $10 or $20 thousand in rent and stay where you are, you'd only be paying a similar amount in interest buying now anyway so you aren't really losing money by waiting, the market definitely isn't going up , but theres a good chance you could save $100 to $200000 on the buy and less that as a mortgage, WAIT PEOPLE YOU CANT LOSE
I didn't say buy now , wait and if FHBers get the choice between a $600000 new home and older home good make the decision when it arises, there'll be reasonable priced older home by the time that happens , there's reasonable homes now between $850k and $950k so even only a 20% drop over the next year or 2 and a FHBers would get a bigger older house for a similar price, and your little dig about Taxinda, labour and the nz people did perfectly fine from 2000 to 2008 when labour was last in , house prices went up and even so high that interest rates went to over 9% by 2008 and that 9% was a big help for savers and housing prices still were going up, it was the GFC that ended that boom not labour, and labour left the country in fine shape thank you very much that saved nz over the period after the GFC, labour being the tax and welfare party is childish and doesn't hardly make any difference between ether party, labour looks after ALL the people not 1% and sell the country, think about national over the next 4 years because if nz gets close to a recession it was nationals doing
Your post is difficult to read. I didn't say buy now, if that's what you are asserting. I was saying that if you believe Taxinda can deliver cheap houses it's logical to wait. As for existing houses being $100,000 to $200,000 cheaper, then good luck with that. Aside from the GFC I struggle to think of any significant pull back in my lifetime, which i'm guessing is a lot longer than yours to date.
As for using the name Taxinda, until I see costings that show my household's taxes aren't going to go up from the 40% we already pay I'll call her that. For someone to receive more, someone has to pay more. The pork barrel politicing so far is odious. Where is the transformational policy on children in poverty? Maybe they don't vote.
I suspect the property FOMO is strong with O4. I'm picking he/she has never owned a property, but has the theory down pat. Akin to a nun writing the Joy of Sex as those of us with a few years under our belt can attest to. Markets can only go up or down, so someone on these forums will be right, albeit they will likely be wrong as to the why. During the GFC, there was a bear on this forum who would post on a daily basis. The market went up and he/she is probably living under a bridge now. If you want a home and can afford it, then buy when it suits you, if you can't afford one, waiting for Taxinda or the market to help you is a dangerous strategy. I went overseas for 10 years to save a 50% deposit. My life, my control.
I'm 57, owned over 20, have 4 in commercial 1 in a house, sold two last year, made a offer on a commercial last week, looking for 2 more houses when the make correct, there were large corrections in 1967 and 1975, and other decades but depending on how and high the boom , the downturn in different but doesn't normally go down as far as up, that's why long term housing is good and if you understand the market you can do well over a decades period because usually we have booms and busts over a 10 year period, even as mild as the 2008 bust I brought a house for $289000, before 2008 it was worth $350000 and now in this boom it's worth $550000 and I'm picking in a year or two it'll go down to $400 to $450000, I should sell it but I like it, I try to comment to help the MASSES, the ones who don't own property and because of the dangers buying in a falling market can really hurt a family for years, and they DO have time, it's not about the small % of rich people rich areas and expensive sales, and bragging, markets DO correct and do go down, in fact roughly 6 years up to we pop and 4 years down , sometimes 10% of the boom sometimes more, , and the differences between labour and national on taxes isn't that much, I own property and have had businesses and have voted both ways, big deal, I'm voting labour because the country needs change and the 99% need help and labour I think will give it, and theres a downturn coming if u like it or not and I think labour would do a better job, I'm picking recession in 2 years, be careful out there, ps FHBers you don't have to help the people who own property now and want out , they made there bed, BE WORRIED ABOUT BEING UNDER WATER IN YOUR MORTGAGE BY BUYING NOW, don't do it , the market isn't going up so wait
Take heart that although the property vultures are currently drowning so many of the threads herein, it is a sure sign of rampant fear. Sadly however, they are also burying the more instructive comments in their drivel. Perhaps it is time for Interest.co to take better control of inputs but I realise it would be extremely difficult.
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