How much does it cost to buy a house in Canterbury?

How much you pay for a house in Canterbury will depend on where you are looking to buy. The region's average property value is $755,000, while the median sale price is $660,000.

Prices tend to vary from district to district and suburb to suburb. Even prices in neighbouring suburbs can differ by as much as $1m-$2m.

Canterbury is New Zealand’s second most populous region, behind Auckland, and is made up of nine territorial local authorities (TLAs) – Ashburton, Christchurch, Hurunui, Kaikoura, Mackenzie, Selwyn, Timaru, Waimakariri and Waimate – and 336 suburbs / small towns.

In terms of the number of listings and the total value of sales, the region’s housing market ranks second.

What's the average house worth in Canterbury?

According to the latest figures from the OneRoof-Valocity House Value Index (taken at the end of April 2023), the region's average property value was $755,000, down 4.7% (-$37,000) year-on-year, but only down 0.1% ($1000) in the last quarter.

Canterbury's housing market hasn't suffered as badly from the downturn as other regions. Its annual rate of decline is almost 10 percentage points lower than New Zealand’s (down 12.3% year-on-year to an average property value of $958,000) and more than 10 percentage points lower than Auckland's (down 15.8% year-on-year to $1.308 million).

The region's average property value hit a peak of $798,531 in June 2022, but has since fallen 5.4% (-$43,000).

For sellers and buyers, it's worth noting that Canterbury's current average property value is 42.4% ($225,000) higher than it was pre-Covid and 46.9% ($241,000) above what it was five years ago.

The rate of decline in the region's average property value has eased in the last two months, from a rolling quarterly average of 3%-plus to almost zero.

The maps below show growth in the average property value for Canterbury compared to the rest of New Zealand, and the change in average property value for each territorial local authority in the region. Click on the locations to see the values. The redder the location, the higher the growth.

The chart below shows the change in Canterbury's average property value in the last five years. Also shown, for comparison, is the change in NZ's average property value over the same period.

Canterbury sale prices - how much do houses cost in the region?

The OneRoof-Valocity House Value Index tracks the value of every residential and lifestyle property in New Zealand - whether it is on the market for sale or not.

The median sale price, as used by the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ), tells you the middle sale price of all the properties that were sold during a given time period. Both measures are valid ways to gauge the worth of your property. The REINZ median house price gives you an idea of what buyers are paying for listed properties in the current market.

According to REINZ, Canterbury's median sale price in April 2023 was $660,000 - down 2.9% year-on-year, and down 2.9%, on the month before.

The nationwide median sale price in March 2023 was, at $780,000, down 10.9% year-on-year, but up 0.3% on the month before.

Canterbury's median sale price is lower than Wellington's ($797,000) and Auckland's ($995,000), but still nearly $300,000 higher than the country's cheapest region for property, West Coast ($379,000).

According to REINZ, Canertbury's median sale price has fallen 8% since hitting a peak of $720,000 in February 2022.

The chart below shows the change in Canterbury's median sale price since August 2020, using figures from REINZ.

The table below features the latest average property for every suburb in the region. The value is an indication of how much a typical home in each suburb is worth and how much it might sell for if it was listed on the open market.

What are the most expensive and the cheapest places to buy a house in Canterbury?

House prices in Canterbury in the last 12 months ranged from as low as $135,000 for a rundown villa in Hampstead, in Ashburton, to as high as $6.8m for a luxury home in Merivale, in Christchurch. The region's most expensive location for property is Kennedys Bush, in Christchurch. Its average property value is $1.708m, down 6.4% (-$117,000) year-on-year.

Overall, there are 34 suburbs in the region with 10-plus settled sales in the last 12 months that have an average property value of more than $1m, up from 33 a year ago.

The cheapest suburb for property in Canterbury is Parkside, in Timaru. Its average property value is $439,000, down 0.2% (-$1000) year-on-year. Overall, there are 116 suburbs in the region with 10-plus settled sales in the last 12 months that have an average property value of less than $1m, down from 117 a year ago. The number of sub-$500,000 suburbs has dropped from 16 to 14 over the same period.

The charts below show Canterbury's most expensive and cheapest suburbs, plus the year-on-year price change.

Where have house prices grown the most and the least in Canterbury?

Of the 150 Canterbury suburbs with 10-plus settled sales in the last 12 months, 49 recorded year-on-year property value growth. The strongest rise was in Ben Ohau, in Mackenzie. Its average property value jumped 14.5% ($143,000) to $1.129m. For long-time Canterbury homeowners, the suburb with the strongest five-year growth is Waikari, in Hurunui. Its average property value has grown 92% ($257,000) since April 2018.

The Christchurch suburb with the strongest year-on-year growth is Little River. Its average property value was up 0.6% ($4,000) to $652,000.

Canterbury's biggest year-on-year drop was in Fendalton, Christchurch. The suburb's average property value fell 17.3% ($312,000) in the last 12 months to $1.496m. The suburb that has grown the least in the last five years is Elgin, in Ashburton. Its average property value of $1.011m is just 22% ($187,000) above where it was in April 2018.

The charts below show where property values have grown the most and the least in Canterbury.

How many houses are for sale in Canterbury?

As of April 20, 2023 there were 4268 residential properties for sale in Canterbury on OneRoof.co.nz.

There are two measures of listings volumes that the analysis below covers – total listings and new listings.

For buyers and sellers, total listings shows you how many properties there are for sale, while new listings shows you how much new stock has come onto the market. Both numbers are an indication of how hot or cold the market is, and where the balance of power sits.

The total number of listings for Canterbury on OneRoof.co.nz in April was down 1.6% month-on-month and up 41% year-on-year. New listings for the region in the 30 days to April 20, 2023 totalled 1185, down 8.8% year-on-year. The annual rate of decline in new listings was well below Wellington (down 42%) and Auckland (down 20%). The nationwide rate of decline was 18.9%.

For sellers in Canterbury, the year-on-year rise in total listings suggests further downwards pressure on prices. However, the fact that new listings are down suggest two things. First, new sellers are holding off until the market improves. Second, the decrease in new stock could end up limiting the rate of the region's house price decline, by increasing the competition for listed properties.

The tables show the year-on-year change in total listings and new listings for NZ and the regions.

How long does it take to sell a house in Canterbury?

Figures from REINZ show how long properties are taking to sell in the region. In April 2023, the median days to sell for Canterbury was 37, up from 31 in April 2022 and 25 in March 2023.

The nationwide figure for March 2023 was 47 days (up from 38 days in April 2022) while in Auckland properties took 43 days to sell (up from 40 days in April 2022) and in Wellington the figure was 52 days (up from 48 days in April 2022).

The regions where properties took the longest to sell in April 2023 were Northland (73 days) and West Coast (69).

REINZ figures also show the number of residential properties sold in Auckland in April 2023 was 685 - down 28% on the month before and down 11.7% on April 2022.

The year-on-year rate of decline in nationwide property sales was 15%, while in Auckland it was 23% and Wellington 12%.

The chart below shows the monthly change in the median days to sell in Canterbury since January 2021.

The chart below shows the monthly change in residential property sales in Canterbury since January 2021.

Who's buying in Canterbury?

First-home buyers are the biggest buying group in Canterbury. Their share of new mortgage registrations in the first quarter of 2023 was 43.3%, up from 42% in the first quarter of 2022. The share of new mortgage registrations by first-home buyers in both Auckland and Wellington in Q1 2023 was 47%.

New mortgage registrations by investors in Canterbury the first quarter of 2023 was 22.5%, up from 17.3% in the first quarter of 2022. Investors' share of purchases in Auckland and Wellington in Q1 this year was 24% and 17% respectively.

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