How much does it cost to buy a house in New Zealand?

How much you pay for a house in New Zealand will depend on where you are looking to buy. The nationwide average property value is $958,000, while the median sale price is $780,00, but prices tend to vary from region to region, and city to city. Even prices in neighbouring suburbs can differ by as much as $2m-$3m.

New Zealand consists of 16 regions, 72 territorial local authorities and 2615 suburbs. Typical prices can range from as low as $100,000 for leasehold studio apartments in the major metros to upwards of $20 million for large homes in prized destinations such as Speargrass Flats, in Queenstown, or Herne Bay, in Auckland.

What's the average house worth in NZ?

New Zealand's housing market has suffered badly from the recent downturn, with the nationwide average property value down 12.3% ($134,000) year-on-year and 2% ($20,000) in the last three months, according to the latest figures from the OneRoof-Valocity House Value Index, taken at the end of April 2023.

However, the rate of decline has eased in the last six months, from a rolling quarterly average of just over 4% to just over 2%.

New Zealand's average property value hit a peak of $1.098m in February 2022, but has since fallen 12.8% ($140,000).

For sellers and buyers, it's worth noting that the nationwide average property value is 23% ($185,000) higher than before Covid struck, and 36% ($255,000) above what it was in 2018.

The average property value in all but one region is down year-on-year. The biggest falls have been in Wellington (down 22% to $874,000), Hawke's Bay (down 15.6% to $787,000) and Auckland (down 14.8% to $1.308m).

The only region to show year-on-year growth is West Coast. The average property in the country's most affordable housing market is up 8.6% ($34,000) year-on-year to $430,000.

The chart below shows the change in the nationwide average property value in the last five years.

The maps below show changes in the average property value across New Zealand. The first shows the change at regional level, the second at a TLA level. Click on the locations to see the values. The redder the location, the higher the growth.

What prices are house buyers currently paying in New Zealand?

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

The nationwide median sale price peaked at $925,000 in November 2021, according to REINZ.

Auckland is still the country's most expensive region for property, with its median sale price of $995,000 well ahead of Wellington's ($797,000) and Canterbury's ($660,000), and more than double the median sale price of the country's cheapest region for property, West Coast ($379,000).

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

The table below features the latest average property for every suburb in New Zealand. 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 New Zealand?

House prices in New Zealand in the last 12 months ranged from as low as $25,000 for a two-bedroom leasehold apartment in Auckland CBD to as high as $26m for a luxury home in East Auckland. New Zealand's most expensive location for property is Coatesville, in Auckland's northern fringes. The suburb, which is dominated by lifestyle blocks and is home to Zuru billionaire Nick Mowbray and his $32.5m mansion estate, has an average property value of $3.797m, up 3.6% ($136,000) year-on-year.

The metro suburb with the highest house prices is Herne Bay. Its average property value is $3.49m, down 16.9% (-$709,000) in the last 12 months.

Overall, there are 394 suburbs with 10 or more settled sales in the last 12 months that have an average property value of more than $1m, down from 503 a year ago.

The cheapest suburb for property in New Zealand is Murupara, in Whakatane, Bay of Plenty. Its average property value is $157,000, down 9.2% ($16,000) year-on-year. The cheapest major metro suburb is South Dunedin, in Dunedin, which has an average property value of $403,000, down 11.8% ($54,000) year-on-year.

Overall, there are 111 suburbs with 10 or more settled sales in the last 12 months that have an average property value of less than $500,000, up from 92 a year ago.

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

Where have house prices grown the most and the least in New Zealand?

Of the 1107 New Zealand suburbs with 10 or more settled sales in the last 12 months, just 137 recorded year-on-year property value growth. The strongest growth was in Ohai, Southland. Its average property value was up 14.6% ($22,000) to $173,000. For long-time homeowners, the suburb with the strongest five-year growth is Patea, in South Taranaki. Its average property value has grown 195% ($211,000) to $319,000 since April 2018.

The biggest year-on-year drop was in Woodville, in Tararua. Manawatu-Whanganui. The suburb's average property value fell 33.6% (-$168,000) in the last 12 months to $332,000. The suburb that has grown the least in the last five years is Newmarket, an apartment-heavy suburb on the fringes of Auckland CBD. Its average property value of $886,000 is now 1.11% ($10,000) below where it was in April 2018.

The charts below show where property values have grown the most and least year-on-year.

How many houses are for sale in New Zealand?

As of April 20, 2023 there were 35,546 residential properties for sale in New Zealand 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 New Zealand on OneRoof.co.nz in March was down 0.7% month-on-month but up 17.4% year-on-year. The total number of listings for all of New Zealand excluding Auckland was down 0.6% month-on-month and up 28% year-on-year.

Nationwide new listings in the 30 days to April 20, 2023 totalled 8541, down 18.9% year-on-year, while new listings for New Zealand excluding Auckland dropped 18.1% year-on-year to 5610. The worst-hit regions for new listings were Gisborne (down 51% year-on-year), Wellington (down 42.3%) and Manawatu-Whanganui (42.6%). New listings for Auckland fell 20.7% year-on-year while the decline in Canterbury was just 8.8%.

For sellers, 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 house price decline, by increasing the competition for listed properties.

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

How long does it take to sell a house in New Zealand?

Figures from REINZ show how long properties are taking to sell. In April 2023, the median days to sell for New Zealand was 47 – up from 45 the month before and 38 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 nationwide in April 2023 was 4262, down 28% on the month before and down 15.3% on April 2022 and way off the post-Covid record of 10,220 in November 2020.

The year-on-year rate of decline in property sales in Auckland was 23%, while in Canterbury it was 11% and Wellington 12%.

Who's buying in New Zealand?

First-home buyers are the biggest buying group in New Zealand. Their share of new mortgage registrations March 2023 was 42.7%, up from 37% in March 2022. New mortgage registrations by first-home buyers in Auckland in the first quarter of 2023 was 47.7%. The share in Canterbury and Wellington was 43% and 47% respectively.

New mortgage registrations by investors in March 2023 was 26%, up from 23% in March 2023. New mortgage registrations by investors in Auckland in the first quarter of 2023 was 24%, while the share in Canterbury and Wellington was 22% and 17% respectively.

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