The housing market slump has hit Auckland's North Shore hard, with the average property value in the former council district dropping $119,000 in the last six months, according to the latest OneRoof house price figures.
Property values are falling fast in some of the area's most desirable waterfront suburbs, with Devonport's average property value falling 9.7% ($247,000) since the start of the year.
James Wilson, head of valuations at OneRoof's data partner, Valocity, said that the $2m-plus segment of the market, which had driven a lot of the value growth in Devonport in 2020 and 2021, had dried up.
“It’s not that [Devonport homes] are selling at a big discount, it’s just that there's not a lot of homes selling for a higher value. Neighbouring Milford and Takapuna have managed escape to the steep falls seen in Devonport and Belmont because of the high volume of new-build sales that have settled in both in the last 12 months," he said.
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Some of those sales settling this quarter, he said, would have prices struck a year or more ago, when buyers were buying off-the-plan as prices were peaking. However, if developers held on to stock, waiting to sell until building was completed, those prices would reflect today’s market.
A four-bedroom villa on Calliope Road, in Devonport, Auckland, recently sold for $3.85m. Photo / Supplied
OneRoof analysis of settled sales in the Devonport and Stanley Point area from January 1, 2022 to the end of May 2022 shows nine properties fetched $3m-plus. REINZ data shows a further two $3m-plus sales, one of which was made at the start June and settled two weeks later; the other sale was done in April but does not settle until September.
Bayleys agent Linda Simmons said that she had started to feel the change in the market last month, when for the first time in three years, one of her listings passed in at auction.
“Everyone’s being told the market is down, so vendors get nervous and buyers don’t want to buy because they think it might go down more," she said.
“But they’re still going to buy a home, it’s for the next 10 years, good homes will sell. I’m still relatively confident compared to other parts of Auckland."
She said that the suburb was a “genuine family market” and did not ride up as fast as other parts of the city.. "The market takes a lot longer to reach Devonport, we’re only seeing it in the last month,” she said, adding that the the high-end market, properties over $5m, was a lot more positive than other sub-markets.
Across in the Takapuna and Milford market, Harcourts agent Gavin Roberts said that a wave of upscale apartment sales in the suburbs have “kept things ticking.”
A four-bedroom home on Hauraki Road, in Hauraki, Auckland, fetched $5.11m in December. Photo / Supplied
“We deal with all price points, from entry level up. Those two-bedroom brick and tile units, that last year topped out at $1.35m in November, today that would have gone backwards, though it’s hard to say numbers. The investors, first-home buyers, downsizers we’re getting fewer numbers through the door,” he said.
At the other end of the scale, Roberts said agents recently had offers on two properties in the $3.5m-plus range fairly quickly, although many of those deals had a lot more conditions attached, generally around finance or subject to selling an existing house.
“All properties are getting offers from just over $1m-$3m to $4m, but some are cheeky offers, people fishing and looking for a deal.”
Roberts said listings for the whole of the North Shore, which traditionally sit at around 1000 to 1100 properties for sale, peaked two months ago at over 1600, and have now dropped back to around 1300. At their lowest during the market peak, listing numbers had dropped to 850, he said, “and that’s for 1000 agents.”
“Buyers are cautious, you have to work to create urgency,” Roberts added.
Bayleys agent Kathryn Robertson, who specialises in the up-and-coming Hauraki area, said that last year’s higher prices, driven by developers buying large plots for townhouses, have softened.
“There was a good sale on a 1000sqm site on Norman Road for $3.7m, that’s held its value [the ratings valuation is $3.2m], that’s next to two other huge sites already built on. I’ve had some good sales – a big family home with multiple offers after it turned in at auction, another on Jutland Road that got $2m," she said.
“The process is taking a little more than it would a year ago, maybe it would have got $2.3m or $2.4m, but there is a very clear indication from the market where they see value.
“People still need to transact and get on with it,” she said.
CORRECTION:
An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated there were just four $3m-plus sales in the Devonport, Takapuna and Milford area this year. The analysis of the sales only covered Devonport and Stanley Point and did not make clear that the period covered was from January 1, 2022 to May 31, 2022. OneRoof apologises for the error. The headline has also been changed to ensure clarity around the metric being tracked in the article.
