Record median house price set nationally in New Zealand, latest index shows

The national median house price in New Zealand reached a record high of $575,000 in November, up 6.5% from $540,000 at the same time last year, the latest index data shows.

Excluding Auckland, the median house price was a record $485,000 up 7.8% from $450,000 in November 2017, the figures from the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) also shows.

However, in Auckland the median house price dropped 1.5% to $867,000, down from $880,000 in November 2017, but was up month on month by 0.3%.

Additionally, six regions achieved a record price during November. In Northland prices were up 21.2% to $515,000, in Waikato there were up 8% to $529,000, while Hawke’s Bay saw a rise of 11.9% to $470,000, Wellington a rise of 11.5% to $613,000, Tasman a rise of 19.2% to $645,000 and Southland a rise of 3.8% to $275,000.

‘For two months in a row now we’ve seen record median prices set for New Zealand driven by extremely strong growth in some of the regions where demand for good properties continues to outstrip supply,’ said Bindi Norwell, REINZ chief executive.

She pointed out that prices rose annually in 14 out of 16 regions around the country, the only exceptions being a fall of 1.5% in Auckland and a fall of 3.3% in Canterbury. Of those 14 regions experiencing annual increases, seven of them saw double digit increases showing the strength of the market.

Although prices fell overall in Auckland, some areas saw strong prices during November including Auckland City with a median price of $999,000 the highest in 17 months, Franklin District also at its highest for six months at $700,000 and North Shore its highest for eight months at 1,041,000.

However, on the flip side, the Rodney District saw prices fall by 11.3% year on year and Manukau City had an annual fall of 2.2%.

The number of houses sold across the country increased by 2.6% year on year to 7,286, while excluding Auckland, the number of properties sold increased by 2.1% compared to November 2017. The index also shows that in Auckland the number of properties sold increased by 3.9% year on year.

On a regional basis the largest annual increases in sales was a rise of 39.3% in Gisborne, followed by the West Coast up 28.6%, Bay of Plenty up 17.4%, and Marlborough up 12%.

‘November was another strong month of property sales, with annual increases in volumes in 10 out of 16 regions, and from a national perspective, November saw the highest volume of sales across the country in six months,’ said Norwell.

‘There were some standout results for a couple of the regions with Gisborne’s sales the highest number of properties sold in one month for 12 years and Taranaki’s sales the highest number of properties sold in a month since March 2007 showing the buoyancy in some of these popular regions,’ she explained.

But she pointed out that there were some areas that had a slower end to spring with volumes down year on year including Nelson with a fall of 22.3%, Canterbury down 6.9%, Southland down 5.3%, Otago down 4.5% and Wellington down 1.2%.