House-hunters in Christchurch are increasingly turning their eyes away from the city and towards the suburbs and satellite towns that surround it in a bid to get more for their money.
Harcourts’ regional manager for the South Island, Jim Davis, told OneRoof that locations north and west of Christchurch, particularly Selwyn and Rangiora, had become popular with buyers looking to build.
Many people fled to the fringes after the 2011 Christchurch earthquake because there was nowhere else to go, but now they were doing it by choice.
“They’ve become hugely desirable places to live in because they’re well serviced and for a lot of people it’s the best option and the most affordable option,” he said, adding that building activity around the borders of Christchurch has kept prices in check.
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“We’re in a unique position compared to other major population centres and that’s why we’re considered the most affordable region, and our populations have more options that don’t exist in Auckland or Wellington.”
Davis said house and land packages in Canterbury had been selling sight unseen even before the lockdown and he expected buyer activity to increase over the coming weeks.
“The pressure is not going to disappear. If anything, all it is doing is putting a cap on a really fizzing bottle and as soon as the cap is off it’s all just going to go back out.”
A new-build in Rangiora sold last week for $1.2m. Photo / Supplied
Rachel Dovey, Bayleys’ general manager in Christchurch, told OneRoof she had noticed an upswing in the number of Christchurch buyers bidding on properties in Rangiora and Selwyn. She feels the recent lockdown will accelerate decisions to move to the fringes.
“I think it’s because your money goes a little further and you can get a larger home,” she said.
Buyers realise that they can work from anywhere and are searching for homes in rural and regional communities, she says, with some looking at locations where they grew up or reconnecting with the wider family.
The latest OneRoof housing market figures show sustained value growth across Canterbury. According to the OneRoof-Valocity House Value Index, the average property value in Christchurch grew a strong 5.7% in the three months to $673,000 the end of August while Selwyn’s average property value jumped 6.6% to $827,000 on the back of strong buyer activity.
This four-bedroom home in Westmorland, in Christchurch, fetched $1.245m at auction. Photo / Supplied
At Bayleys’ auction in Christchurch last week, while the South Island was still at alert level four, 12 out of 14 lots sold under the hammer, with prices ranging from just $700,000 to well over $1 million.
In Rangiora, a $1.2m bid took a four-bedroom new build on Goldie Drive off the market while in Westmorland, in Christchurch’s southern fringe, buyers jostled to secure a four-bedroom house on Happy Home Road. The property sold for $1.245 million - $475,000 above its RV.
The listing agent for the Westmorland house, Bayleys’ Emma King, said it was bought by a Christchurch family who had been searching for a place for two years.
"It was a post-quake build and that always appeals in Christchurch and a big garden that every kid can only dream of," she said.
