Housing market update

The average home in New Zealand is now worth $901,231, according to the latest Quotable Value (QV) House Price Index.

The mid-November report shows property values have remained largely static in Christchurch and the wider Canterbury region this quarter, despite a modicum of growth in October.

QV operations manager James Wilson says the average home value decreased across Canterbury by just 0.1% in the October quarter, compared with average decreases of 0.7%, 1.1%, and 0.7% in the July, August, and September quarters respectively.

In Christchurch, the average home value has reduced by 0.2% to $759,806 in the October quarter, compared with average decreases of 0.7%, 1.3%, and 0.8% in the July, August, and September quarters respectively.

The neighbouring districts of Hurunui (-0.4%) and Waimakariri (-0.8%) experienced similar declines this quarter, while Selwyn (0.9%) recorded a modest amount of positive growth. On a shorter time scale of a month, Christchurch, Hurunui, and Selwyn all recorded modest growth of between 0.1% and 0.2% in October.

“More sales recorded in the last month have contributed to a slight increase in home values for the Canterbury region as a whole. “Though minimal, these latest statistics do show the market has bounced back with a bit more bustle, especially with more transactions in the lower quartile of home values for the month of October,” says QV senior consultant Olivia Brownie.

“With interest rates past their peak, the market overall appears to be at a good equilibrium for buyers and sellers with consistent activity across the residential property market in the region.”