Of New Zealand’s main centres, Christchurch has the most suburbs with an average property value of less than $1 million, according analysis of the latest OneRoof house price figures.
In Auckland there were 28 out of 276 suburbs, in Hamilton 26 out of 41 and in Wellington just seven out of 56.
In Christchurch, 82 out of 113 suburbs had an average property value of less than $1m. Of those 82, 53 have an average property value of less than $797,000, the current average property value for the entire city, and seven have an average property value of less than $500,000.
Three of the seven - Birdlings Flat, Bexley and Middleton- are small fringe suburbs, with few houses and few sales, but Phillipstown (which has an average property value of $462,000), Aranui ($473,000), Wainoni ($492,000) and Linwood ($495,000) are all large housing markets that have lots of opportunities for first home buyers.
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Gill Knight, director of Whittle Knight real estate in Christchurch, says most suburbs in the city offer buyers value for their money.
“There’s an impression that everyone's paying megabucks for houses when they aren't really. I think people get distracted by the hype over multimillion-dollar sales and they don't realise there are a lot of sales going on in the background which are not in that range but which are not highlighted.”
For someone from Auckland, Christchurch could seem a first home buyers’ dream because of the prices but to locals, prices hikes in the city in recent times made buying difficult. In the last two years, the city’s average property value has jumped 49.3% ($263,000).
“One of the problems we had was when the market was really moving along, we had Auckland buyers coming down and paying prices which, gosh, our buyers weren't prepared to pay and pushing the prices up,” Knight says.
That was then, however, and local buyers are no longer being pushed out of their own backyards. “Things have changed markedly now because there are so many listings on the market people can shop around without any pressure anymore.”
Buyers can also get a range of properties, from established homes on bigger sections to new townhouses.
A three-bedroom home at 5 Nanette Street, in Upper Riccarton, is looking for offers over $749,000. Photo / Supplied
Typical of the choice and price points on offer is 5 Nannette Street, in Upper Riccarton, a three-bedroom 1970s home which is seeking offers over $749,000.
Knight says Upper Riccarton has had a lot of multiple unit developments since the land was rezoned to medium and transitional density. That allowed a “fair amount” of units to go on one site and some of the older homes in the area have been demolished to make way for the new.
In Burnside, where the average property value is a little higher at $898,000, Whittle Knight recently sold a 1960s three-bedroom home on Kendal Avenue for $720,000.
Burnside has a lot of bigger split-level housing from the 1970s and early 1980s which sell well and an attraction is also Burnside High School and Burnside Park.
Christchurch has a lot of good, solid homes that have timber construction and real cladding, Knight says. “You can rely on it when you can put money into it and get it back again.”
Those suburbs are in the mid to high end of the sub-$1m market while the lower end includes Bexley, an eastern suburb hit by liquefaction issues from the earthquakes and more recently by a bad smell in the area after a fire at the water plant which may partly reflect the $350,000 average value.
Other lower value suburbs, where average values range from around the mid-$400,000s to the mid-$500,000s, include Phillipstown, Linwood, Bromley and Woolston.
Knight describes the suburbs as a mixed bag of older type homes and older-style uniform flats, although Phillipstown has improved since amenities were improved. “Linwood still has a lot of rental there and a lot of houses were built for investments rather than living in.”
A two-bedroom home on an 828sqm section on Kainga Road, Kainga, recently sold at auction for $350,000. Photo / Supplied
A 1960s three-bedroom home on Kendal Avenue, in Burnside, sold for $720,000. Photo / Supplied
The seaside suburb of New Brighton is a bit of an enigma, he says. OneRoof’s figures puts the suburb’s average property value at $542,000 and Knight says while people usually rush to buy at the seaside that hasn’t happened in New Brighton.
That could be because the prevailing wind is easterly in Christchurch so it’s generally “fairly breezy” at the beach, plus there are high sand dunes between the beach and the houses.
Christchurch Central, on the other hand, where the average value is $723,000, is seeing strong prices because of the new apartments and townhouses built after the earthquakes. “That’s pulled the prices up in the middle of town.”
The inner-city suburb of St Albans has seen a lot of activity over the past year with the average value now sitting at $905,000.
Knight says St Albans has always been popular as it’s close to the middle of town and while it doesn’t have the premium housing neighbouring Merivale has, there is a mixture of attractive “cottagey” homes and nice townhouses which have been built more recently.
Nearby Ilam, where the average value is $986,000, has always been a good suburb with a good standard of homes, many of which have been renovated over the years, Knight says.
People that can’t afford Merivale often look to St Albans and Ilam, Knight says.
Rachel Dovey, general manager sales with Bayleys Christchurch, says parts of Christchurch have been going “gangbusters” and there’s plenty to buy under $1m.
A three-bedroom new-build for sale at 72B Cornwall Street, in St Albans. Photo / Supplied
A smartly presented three-bedroom home at 151 Rutland Street, in St Albans, goes to auction on July 7. Photo / Supplied
Selwyn, for example, has seen a lot of building since land was opened up, but some areas of lower value, like Philipstown and Linwood, haven’t re-energised as much as other areas.
Bayleys often has rentals that come to the market at the lower end of the price range: “They’re not renovated, they’re fairly basic,” Dovey says.
But cheaper properties can still prove popular. A mortagee auction last week for a two-bedroom property in Kainga, to the north of the city, had several phone bidders and an in-room bidder. The property sold for $350,000.
“That was pretty interesting, that people were looking for the opportunity at the lower end to be able to renovate something.”
Mortgagee sales are not common, Dovey says, as Christchurch is a diverse city with good employment. She also says areas like St Albans have had a lot of growth in townhouses and apartments.
“It’s a very desirable location because it's near schools, it's easy to get to work, it's near the city and you have some lovely streets a bit like what you see in Ponsonby with a lot of character homes, but also there's been quite a lot of new townhouse builds around that area so quite a lot of new activity.”
For $900,000 people would be able to buy a nice home in one of the beautiful, tree-lined streets.
“You’d be looking at a nice bungalow, maybe a three-bedroom, one-bath bungalow on a moderate site.”
Bayleys has a three bedroom standalone property for sale in Cornwall Street in St Albans and a 1930s cottage in Rutland St in the same suburb.
A lot of the homes have been modernized and restored, and Christchurch isn’t called the Garden City for nothing: “A of those beautiful homes have beautiful gardens and they look gorgeous.”
A three-bedroom apartment on offer at 2/26 Camberwell Place, in Avonhead. Photo / Supplied
An artist's impression of a new-build terrace at 30 Otley Street, in Christchurch Central. Photo / Supplied
The central city’s popularity is in part down to the new builds, although Dovey says there are still plenty of standalone houses around.
“It’s not like the central city of Auckland where you do have a lot of towers and lots of apartment blocks.
“It's still moderately low-rise around there with a lot of housing stock but more of the townhouse style.”
She thinks while some people are attracted to the idea of a character villa or bungalow they turn to new builds which offer a liveable home built to earthquake standards which are also low maintenance.
Nick Cowdy, principal agent for real estate firm Cowdy in Christchurch, also says the city has a range of properties available for under $1m.
On the market now from the agency is 2-26 Camberwell Place, a three bedroom home in Avonhead, in the $600,000 to $700,000 range.
Cowdy says values in the central city are reflective of the new builds taking place, such as a brand new three-bedroom, three-level townhouses on offer in the centre of Christchurch for $870,000.
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