Our next million dollar suburbs
Nine Christchurch suburbs are poised to cross the million-dollar threshold in the next couple of years.
The next Christchurch suburbs most likely to be inducted into the million-dollar club appear most likely to be: Casebrook ($900,900), Ilam ($910,000), Halswell ($820,000), and St Albans ($755,000). That’s according to Gavin Lloyd, the Property Sales Director for Trade Me, based on the average asking prices from their latest May data. He says, “Christchurch has been growing in popularity over the past few years as many Kiwis in the North Island head south in search of better property prospects and a better lifestyle.”
It does depend on who you ask though because, in addition to the suburbs flagged by Gavin, data analyst Cotality (previously CoreLogic) has named another three as soon-to-be million-dollar suburbs with a median value for free-standing homes of between $950,000 and $995,000. Namely: Aidanfield, Waimairi, and Marshland.
Then, if you ask Atom Go Tian, senior data analyst for Ray White, there are two more to add to the list: Upper Riccarton, ($975,000), thanks to its proximity to the University of Canterbury and established infrastructure, and Bryndwr, ($945,000), which neighbours Ilam.
These nine suburbs on the ‘will they, won’t they?’ million-dollar-watchlist are coming in behind those that have already passed the seven-figure mark, which include Fendalton, Merivale, Strowan, Cass Bay, Governors Bay, Harewood, Tai Tapu, and Prebbleton, along with all the hillside and south-east beach suburbs. Worth special mention in the latter is Scarborough, which often tops the lists of most expensive suburbs, holding the highest median property value.
Pros and cons
What does it all mean? A few things, and for some, it’s not positive. First-time house buyers and younger generations could be forgiven for worrying that more suburbs crossing the million-dollar threshold means that the dream of homeownership is creeping further out of reach.
A lack of affordable housing is bad for everyone. The upshot of more expensive housing has an impact on everything from more intergenerational living and people leaving to try their luck in places like Australia, Dubai, Europe; to people having to move further out of the city and contend with longer commutes. In turn, this has a knock-on effect on everything from public transport infrastructure to traffic jams and demands for more flexible work-from-home arrangements. It also means bigger mortgages, which means people have less money in their pockets to spend in the local economy. That’s less discretionary income for our local shops, cafés, restaurants, leisure and fitness businesses, our entertainment sector, and more.
For others, the rise of million-dollar suburbs is a positive sign – and it’s not just the real estate agents. The trend is a reflection of our region’s continued popularity. Ōtautahi is experiencing faster growth than other major cities like Auckland and Wellington because, while prices are slowly rising here, Ōtautahi still offers more affordable housing options when compared to other major urban centres. We also offer a globally enviable lifestyle and have easy access to incredible outdoor recreation and a vibrant city centre – one that is poised to get a lot more vibrant in the next five years with the opening of Te Kaha or One New Zealand Stadium, the Parakiore Recreation and Sport Centre, and the Downtown Christchurch commercial and residential development.
Housing market sluggish
Interestingly though, while we contemplate the rising membership of the ‘million-dollar suburb club’, in real terms the housing market is slow, nationally and locally.
QV House Price Index operations manager James Wilson said, “The housing market is still softening, but doing so at a slowing pace with signs of tentative confidence beginning to surface.”
How is Waitaha Canterbury faring? The QV House Price Index (QV HPI) shows that Christchurch’s average home values rose 1.3% in the May quarter to $779,866.
QV HPI data also showed that Hurunui values saw a quarterly increase of 0.7% to a new average of $645,936, which is 1.8% lower year on year. Waimakariri recorded a modest increase of 0.2% to an average value of $720,376, which is 0.7% higher than in May last year.
Local QV registered valuer, Olivia Brownie says, “The property market in the Canterbury region remains stable, with buyers showing commitment to purchases and sellers pricing realistically. We continue to see a small, consistent positive market movement across the region as a whole.”
