- House prices have risen by more than $250,000 in over 200 suburbs since April 2020.
- Arrowtown and Lake Hayes saw the biggest dollar increases, with gains more than $1m.
- Wellington suburbs were hardest hit, with minimal gains, while Christchurch and Queenstown-Lakes saw significant growth.
House prices have risen by more than a quarter of a million dollars in over 200 suburbs in the five years since Covid-19 struck, new figures show.
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Research from OneRoof to mark the fifth anniversary of when New Zealand went into lockdown highlights the enduring impact of the post-pandemic boom – even after a 12% slump in prices.
OneRoof looked at value growth in suburbs with 20 or more settled sales in the last 12 months and measured the dollar and percentage change since April 2020.
OneRoof found significant changes at the top and bottom of the market. Prices in two wealthy suburbs jumped by more than $1 million in the last five years, while the cost of a typical home in three of the country’s cheapest hotspots almost doubled.
The average property value in 27 suburbs is more than $500,000 ahead of April 2020 levels.
In dollar terms, the five biggest winners are Arrowtown (up $1.228m), Lake Hayes (+$1.016m); Omaha (+$994,000); Point Wells (+$861,000); and Waiheke Island (+$805,000).
All five are holiday locations favoured by wealthy buyers and are home to some of the country’s most expensive properties.
Percentage-wise the five biggest winners are Cobden (+98.8%); Blaketown (+96.7%); Runanga (+95.3%); Reefton (+88.9%); and Arrowtown.
Arrowtown is in Queenstown-Lakes and at the luxury end of the housing market; Cobden, Blaketown, Runanga and Reefton are all in West Coast and four of the cheapest suburbs for housing in New Zealand.
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According to the research, the average Kiwi homeowner who bought before April 2020 made at least $200,000 in the last five years.
However, the majority of that money would have been made during the post-lockdown boom. From April 2020 to market peak in February 2022, the nationwide average property value jumped more than $300,000.
It subsequently fell by more than $150,000 as a result of rising interest rates and affordability woes and is only now starting to grow again on the back of falling interest rates.
Homeowners on Waiheke Island enjoyed a $805,000 lift in property values since 2020. The demand for baches on the island spiked during the post-Covid boom. Photo / Fiona Goodall
House prices in Cobden, in West Coast, almost doubled in the space of five years. Photo / Getty Images
Most homeowners will have made money in the last five years, but the research did identify 11 suburbs where the average property value is lower now than it was five years ago. Most of these “losing” suburbs are in Wellington or are dominated by small investor apartments.
Wellington suburbs were hit hardest by the slump, with the average value gain in the city a measly $33,000.
Even though Auckland property values also dropped sharply during the slump, homeowners in the city still had a good chance of making big dollar gains.
Of the 201 Auckland suburbs covered by the research, a third enjoyed value gains of more than $250,000. Most of the big gains were in expensive suburbs, so even modest percentage growth was enough to push up prices by hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Property values in all 13 Queenstown-Lakes suburbs covered by the research enjoyed big dollar gains in the last five years. Christchurch also did well, with the average property value in 31 suburbs rising by more than $250,000.
However, it is not just the wealthy who are pocketing big money. The research found that more than half of the 205 suburbs enjoying gains of more than $250,000 had average property values of less than $1m in April 2020.
In fact, the cost of the typical home in nine “big dollar growth” suburbs was less than $500,000 five years ago.
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