What $1.4m-plus gets you: Luxury in Christchurch, a do-up in Auckland

House prices in New Zealand's two biggest cities have felt the heat post-Covid - but as this week's auction results show, there still remains a huge gap in what buyers can get for their money in each city.

At Bayleys' Christchurch auctions on Thursday, a stylish five-bedroom home with an outdoor pool fetched $1.42 million under the hammer - almost $400,000 above its 2019 rating valuation.

The four-year-old home at 5 Kawharu Street, in Marshland, in the city's north east fringes, sits on a 1228sqm section over Waitikiri Golf Course.

Six buyers competed to secure the property, with bidding starting at $1.1 million. Bayleys agent Shaun Creek, who marketed the house with colleague Liam Worsfold, told OneRoof there weren’t many sections of that size in the city.

Although the sale price was what he expected the house to fetch, Creek said a budget of over $1.4 million was generally high for the city and would secure pretty much any dream home in Christchurch.

“You can buy anything you want for that price anywhere in Christchurch,” he said.

While a $1.4 million-plus budget will buy you luxury in Christchurch, it's just enough to get a do-up in Auckland.

At Barfoot and Thompson's Auckland auctions on Thursday, a very rough looking three-bedroom weatherboard bungalow sold under the hammer for $1.49 million - $235,000 above its 2017 CV.

72 Bremner Avenue, in Mount Roskill, Auckland sold to an investor for $1.49 million. Photo / Supplied

Barfoot and Thompson agent Alex Wu said 72 Bremner Avenue, in Mount Roskill, was bought by an investor, who made a pre-auction offer of $1.49 million and was the only bidder at the auction.

The tired-looking house is located narrow 754sqm freehold site zoned for mixed housing urban.

Wu said the sale price was reasonable for a site with development potential but that buyers in Mount Roskill with budgets of $1.4 million-plus would find it difficult to get the sort of luxury home on offer in Christchurch.

“If the house is in good condition, $1.5 million is not a high budget,” he said.