Houses in Lower Hutt still have prices 24 percent below their previous peaks. Photo: Supplied/ Dan Bailey
Some parts of the country are setting house price records, while some still have prices 25 percent below their previous peaks, new data shows.
Lower Hutt is the part of the country where house prices are furthest from their peak. There, values are still down 24.3 percent according to Cotality, formerly Corelogic, data.
It is followed by Upper Hutt, down 23.6 percent, and Wellington City, down 23.4 percent.
Waitakere is the part of Auckland still furthest from the peak, down 22.8 percent, but most of Auckland remains more than 20 percent down.
Chief property economist Kelvin Davidson said Wellington and Auckland were lagging the peak the most. But he said it was now a mixed picture around the rest of the country.
"There's about 13 areas still down 20 percent from the peak … that's where the weakness still is.
"At the other end of the spectrum you've got some markets at zero change compared to the peak or even slightly setting new records in the past couple of months. Some are still pushing 25 percent [below the peak] and others have seen all the losses recouped. It's been a deep and prolonged downturn for some areas. They had a lot of growth in the boom and in some senses got a bit overheated and felt the pain afterwards."
Christchurch is only 4.4 percent below the peak. Invercargill is 0.9 percent below and New Plymouth, Westland and Kaikoura have hit new price records.
Davidson said whether prices not having returned to their peak was a good thing would depend on someone's perspective.
Overall, property values rose 0.3 percent in April, taking the national average to $819,096.
Around the main centres, April was a stronger month for most, with Hamilton up by 0.8 percent, Christchurch by 0.5 percent and Auckland 0.3 percent.
Dunedin, Wellington, and Tauranga each had a lift of 0.1 percent.
Davidson said that a fourth consecutive monthly rise in property values confirms the upturn is unfolding as expected, though a degree of caution remains warranted.
"The expectations of market and the year are proving correct, the story for a long time has been that we might get some upside in house prices in 2025 due to the falls in mortgage rates but the growth could be fairly modest."
He said the 1 percent increase over three months was in line with expectations for 4 percent or 5 percent growth over the year.
"Some people I guess might be looking at a 5 percent gain in house prices this year as perhaps subdued.
"And you know if they're looking for a bit more capital gain, they might be a bit disappointed by that. But then there is going to be others who are who are very happy for a period of flatter house prices, that gives them the chance to build that deposit and they've got heaps of choice at the moment, lots of listings. So I think that two sides of the market is pretty important.
"Clearly, lower mortgage rates have been a strong support for property values in recent months, giving more buyers the confidence and ability to enter the market. Perhaps in a slightly perverse way, the recent global uncertainty about tariffs and trade protectionism could also see interest rates fall further.
"That said, a fresh boom in property values seems unlikely. For a start, the stock of listings on the market remains high, giving buyers plenty of power when it comes to price negotiations."
He said, with bank servicing rates, used to test whether buyers can afford a loan, falling below 7 percent, debt-to-income restrictions would become more important.
Mortgage broking firm Squirrel said that was the case in South Auckland particularly.
"It's mostly lower-income investors and migrants who struggle to verify income," founder John Bolton said.
"The issue is more around income verification. In the past, banks could be a little bit flexible about income verification. Now that it is a strict rule, they need to follow it to the letter. It impacts migrants more who work multiple jobs and have extended families in the mix."
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