3 Nov 2015

Average Auckland house price nears $1m

1:06 pm on 3 November 2015

The cost of the average home in Auckland has surged closer to the million dollar mark.

Fresh figures from Quotable Value (QV) show the Auckland housing market has increased 24.4 percent from a year ago, and the average price is $918,153.

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Photo: 123rf.com

It has gone up 7.3 percent in just the last three months.

Broken down into areas covered by the former city councils, Waitakere City has recorded a massive 27.7 percent rise since October last year.

There has been a 27.5 percent rise in Manukau year on year, and 24.1 percent hike in the former Auckland City Council area.

But the biggest rise was in the Papakura District, where house prices are up 33.9 percent from a year ago.

QV said this price rise in Papakura happened as first home buyers raced to secure a home in one of the city's most affordable areas.

When adjusted for inflation, house values across Auckland were 42.8 percent above the previous housing peak in 2007.

QV said Auckland's prices were rising because of high net migration and record low interest rates.

National spokesperson Andrea Rush said measures introduced to try to ease Auckland's hot housing market had not helped.

"While anecdotal evidence suggests that the market may have cooled somewhat in anticipation of regulatory measures being introduced by the government and the Reserve Bank, there is still no sign that this is having any impact on rising values in the super city region," she said.

The QV House Price Index shows residential property prices nation-wide are up 14 percent over the past year - the fastest rate of growth since March 2006.

The nation-wide average home price is $552,345.

In Wellington, the average house price has risen by 6.6 percent with the average price now at $597,000.

There are now three million-dollar suburbs, with Kelburn and Seatoun joining Oriental Bay/ Roseneath.

Quotable Value's David Nagel said many Wellington homes have risen rising in value by 5 to 10 percent.

There are about 55,000 houses in the Capital.

QV also said areas like Rotorua, where prices have gone up 6.1 percent in three months, are being fuelled by interest and demand from out-of-town investors.

The numbers

  • Whangarei, 7.6 percent
  • Auckland, up 24.4 percent (year on year)
  • Hamilton, up 18.2 percent
  • Tauranga, up 13.7 percent
  • Wellington, up 3.2 percent
  • Hurinui District, 8.7 percent
  • Christchurch, up 2.7 percent
  • MacKenzie District, up 17.2 percent
  • Dunedin, up 4.2 percent
  • Queenstown Lakes District, up 8.4 percent
  • Grey, Buller, Westland, Kaikoura, Clutha districts in the South Island and Kawerau, Tararua, Masterton, South Wairarapa districts in the North Island had value decreases

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