While Auckland's property market has bounced back from the slump, with house price growth in over half the city’s suburbs, around the country median values in smaller towns have really boomed.
Top growth suburbs, are those with low values in rural fringes of the country, according to figures from property listing site OneRoof and its data partner Valocity.
Porangahau, in Hawkes Bay and Southland’s Nightcaps had the top year on year growth to December 2019 of 81.3 percent – but that brought their median values to only $290,000 and $145,000. All of the top ten growth suburbs around the country have median values that are well below $400,000.
In the main centres, the top growing suburbs were in Napier’s Te Awa and Eskdale in Hastings, which grew 30.9 percent and 29.4 percent, figures close to their earlier boom years.
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But it is in Dunedin where values are really showing the heat in that market, as a chronic shortage of housing stock drives up values. Clyde Hill and Dalmore each grew by over 26 percent, Liberton by 24.6 percent.
“This is the sweet spot for Dunedin buyers,” says OneRoof’s Owen Vaughan.
“With low median prices of $380,000 to $435,000 they’re being chased by both first home buyers and investors.
“This year over all Dunedin suburbs, value grew a whopping 15.5 percent and 16 suburbs broke into the $500,000 club, with a handful more close to that. That’s unprecedented.”
Dunedin’s most expensive suburb, Maori Hill, now has median value of $765,000. Its slower growth, only 7.4 percent, suggest affordability limit is being reached, adds Vaughan.
Median values in Christchurch too are warming up in some suburbs. While values in all suburbs in the city have gone up by only 2.1 percent, Sumner has grown a whopping 14 percent, to $735,000 and the central city by 11.4 percent to $587,500.
Like Dunedin, demand in the most affordable price points is driving median value growth. One of Christchurch’s lowest priced suburbs, Aranui has grown 9.1 percent to $300,000, although at the other end of the scale, Cashmere values have also grown by 7.5 percent to $715,000.
Beach towns in the Bay of Plenty are feeling the spill over from Tauranga, as buyers push further out from the city. Bowentown grew 21.1percent, Maketu 13.3 percent and Athenree 12.4 percent.
In Tauranga itself, the maturing of the city centre into a true mixed use live/work hub is apparent in its value growth of 12.2 percent. It is the highest in Tauranga at $920,000.
Lifestyle suburbs Papamoa and the Mount Maunganui continue to grow between 6 and 8 percent, but it the more affordable suburbs on the edge of town, with median values between $465,000 and $650,000 which have also steady growth of 5.6 percent to 8.7 percent: Matapihi in the harbour, Gate Pa, Judea and others.
Lifestyle suburbs of Wellington are also experiencing the highest growth in the capital. Median values in the trendy seaside suburbs of Seatoun, Karaka Bay and Breaker Bay all have grown between 8 and 10.2 percent, while desirable city fringe suburbs like Oriental Bay, Te Aro, Kelburn and Mount Victoria have grown between 9.6 and 12 percent.
But the biggest value growth is in one of the city’s most affordable suburb Grenada North. Median value has increased by 15.5 percent, but is still only $560,000, well below Wellington’s median value of $850,000.
The big growth is in Upper Hutt, where median values have shot up 14.3 percent (and in some parts by 16 to 18 percent) to a city average of $600,000.
Growth is slightly slower across pricier Upper Hutt, but more affordable spots like Naenae and Wainuiomata have grown 17.2 percent to $510,000 and $470,000. Similarly, Porirua’s Cannons Creek is up 16.2 percent to $430,000.
Christchurch hottest suburb in January is the beach-side Sumner, up 14 percent in the year to $735,000. The central city also saw double digit growth of 11.4 percent. Higher priced Richmond Hill, Strowan, Clifton also saw increases of 7.5 percent
With a median value of $1.025 million, the heat has finally come off Queenstown, down 0.5 percent on a year ago. There’s still growth in Arrowtown, up 9.2 percent to $1.125m, but Kelvin Heights growth has cooled to only 1.2 percent, and Jack’s Point has dropped by 5.1 percent to a still pricey $1.29m. The few remaining sub-$1m suburbs like Lake Hayes and Lower Shotover still have some growth in them, albeit between 2.3 percent and 3.7 percent.
