Aucklanders leaving the big city and expats returning home have been one of the major catalysts in Waikato house price gains – up by 28 per cent in the year ended November – but it is still a great time to sell and a great time to buy in the region, according to real estate experts.
Re/Max Riverina Realty director Steve Roper says another part of the impetus behind Hamilton/Waikato price rises was the lack of stock. Only about 500 houses were available just over a month ago, increasing to nearly 800 now.
“It’s been an interesting time, with many Aucklanders cashing up and moving down here because Hamilton and Waikato are so close to Auckland. FOMO [fear of missing out] on a buoyant market has also been a driver.”
In the past 12 months, to the year ended November, property values across the Waikato have risen by an average of 27.6 per cent, according to official REINZ statistics – with areas like Rototuna (26 per cent), Ngaruawahia (18.6 per cent), Flagstaff (24.4 per cent), Queenwood (32 per cent) and Cambridge (52.1 per cent) leading the way.
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However, Roper and co-director Jo Harris say that, even with the rise in values in the last 12 months, it is still an excellent time to buy in the region. Hamilton City’s new median is now $881,000.
“There are a lot of housing developments throughout the Waikato and a lot of apartments being built,” says Harris. “That will mean more housing stock available – and Auckland will seem even closer when the new motorway goes through, allowing people to live in the Waikato and travel as required.”
One of the biggest developments is in Hamilton South, the Peacocke development, expected to provide housing for 20,000 people when completed, with about 3750 homes expected in the next 10 years and more in future years. It will be, says Roper, “like a sub-city” of Hamilton.
“The thing we’ve seen about buying in Hamilton and the Waikato that has excited Aucklanders is that they are able to upgrade significantly on their house in Auckland,” he says. “We are seeing people from middle-class suburbs, if you like, coming down here and being able to afford homes which are a step up from what they had in Auckland.
Photo / Supplied.
“Conversely, people are buying a similar house down here to what they had in Auckland – but are able to save a good amount of capital which they can put to other uses - like investing into property assets, which our team can help with.”
The migration to the Waikato and subsequent price rises means buying into the market has become harder for first home buyers and bank policy changes means more are struggling to gain access to finance – as has happened everywhere else, Roper says. “I read somewhere that 10 years ago, it took 6.5 years to save the deposit on a house. Now it takes 10 years”.
He and Harris expect the Waikato market to “stabilise” as more houses come on the market, though they do not think there will be significant drops: “That’s why we say it’s such a good time to sell and a good time to buy.”
Some people, they say, will be waiting to list their property after the Auckland and Waikato regions open up from the lockdowns and the hard borders come down.
In the REINZ statistics, median prices in the 12 districts and suburbs covered rose by varying amounts. For example, Morrinsville and Ngaruawahia had a median price of $749,000 and $670,000 (up from $630,000 and $565,000 respectively). Hamilton East’s median price was $822,000, up from $670,000 from end-November 2020 to end-November 2021.
At the higher end, Flagstaff’s median price was $1.285m, Cambridge $1.185m, Rototuna $1.162m and Queenwood $1.1m.
Roper says Hamilton has new, exciting developments that will transform the look and feel of the city – like the new theatre, Hills Village, MADE, the Ruakura inland port, Waikato Innovation Park and the Peacocke/Amberfield Development.
Re/Max Riverina Realty was established early this year when Roper, a well-known local businessman, and Harris established the global real estate brand in Hamilton, based in a property on the site of the old Hotel Riverina – New Zealand’s first international hotel and a magnificent building, once purportedly graced by Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth, Queen Mother. It was New Zealand’s first international hotel.
Re/Max Riverina Realty is part of the highly successful Re/Max international network, one of the biggest real estate agencies in the world, with 7000 offices in 118 countries and 140,000 sales associates worldwide.
