Auckland's overall average property value rose 25.8% in the last 12 months to a new high of $1.451 million. In the last three months alone, the city saw growth of 5.4% - which means values continued to grow another $74,000 despite lockdown measures severely limiting real estate activity in the city.
Property values in the city have been steadily rising since the start of July, when three-month growth was at a 2021 low of 3.4%. In the three months to August, the average property value rose 4.4%.
Homes in Auckland's Waitakere region, which takes in the city's western suburbs and fringe towns out towards the Waitakere Ranges and the western beaches, shot up 7.4% in value in the last three months to $1.178m.
Suburbs in the city's Rodney region, typically home to new sub-divisions, lifestyle properties, coastal homes and baches, saw quarterly growth of 4.4% to $1.47m, while property values in the city's southern fringe, in Franklin and Papakura, rose 5.4% and 5.8% respectively to $1.114m and $1.091m.
Start your property search
OneRoof's latest House Value Index figures give a fuller breakdown of what's happening in the city itself. The average property value in Auckland's central city suburbs grew 4.6% in the last quarter to $1.658m. Homes in East Auckland suburbs saw the least amount of growth, rising "just" 3.7% in the last quarter to $1.637m. The pricey beach suburbs on Auckland's North Shore were similarly sluggish, registering growth of 3.8% - but that still equates to a rise of $69,000 to $1.897m.
The Shore's western, non-beachfront suburbs were up 4.5% - $59,000 - to $1.381m, while the average property value in West Auckland's metro suburbs - so excluding the pricier lifestyle areas like Kumeu - rose 5.3% over the quarter to $1.162m.
South Auckland, viewed as the most affordable option for house-hunters, is now well and truly a $1m housing market, with the average property value in suburbs from Mangere Bridge to Manurewa also growing 5.3% to $1.064m. That's astounding when you think typical house prices in South Auckland sat around $750,000 mark just two years ago.
Waiheke Island is the most expensive part of Auckland to buy a house, and the last three months has made it even more expensive, with the average property value of homes on the island rising 8.4% to $1.952m.
At a suburb level, the surge in house prices has been transformative. Of the city's 276 suburbs, 237 - 85% - have an average property value of $1m and above. That's five more than three months ago, with Glen Eden, Kelston, New Lynn, Pollok and Sunnyvale the new additions to the club.
Six months ago, Auckland had 215 $1m-plus suburbs, and a year ago it had just 177. The squeeze on the city's affordable suburbs shows no signs of slowing. Of the 39 suburbs with an average property value of less than $1m, eight sit in the sub-$800,000 bracket, and of those only two - Auckland Central, home to a high volume of low value one-bed apartments, and Te Hana, a rural suburb north of Wellsford that's home to very few properties - have an average property value of less than $700,000. A year ago Auckland had 41 suburbs with an average property value of less than $800,000, and 21 under $700,000.
At the upper end of the market, five suburbs have an average property value of $3m-plus, with one, Herne Bay, within striking distance of $4m. The number of suburbs in the $2m-$3m bracket has ballooned from 12 a year ago to 45 now.
Grey Lynn, in the city's inner west, is the city's hottest market. The suburb's average property value jumped 12.5% - $224,000 - in the last three months to $2.021m. That's not an aberration either. Growth in the three months to August was 9.1%.
What's fuelling that jump in prices? Pent-up demand, fewer houses for sale and increased competition from buyers priced out of neighbouring Ponsonby, where the average property value spiked more than 10% in the three months to July and now sits at $2.584m (growth in the three months to September has since calmed to just over 7%).
A total of 103 Auckland suburbs saw growth of 5% and above in the last quarter. Running close behind Grey Lynn for quarterly growth are Pukekohe (up 10.7% to $966,000) and three suburbs on Waiheke - Onetangi (up 10.6% to $1.991m); Oneroa (up 9.8% to $2.222m) and Omiha (also up 9.8% to $1.219m).
But other parts of the market are slowing down: 12 suburbs, including high-end Herne Bay and St Marys Bay, registered quarterly growth of less than 1%, while the average property value in another 12 suburbs, including Manukau and Auckland Central, fell in value.
