More than 50 Auckland suburbs have joined the million-dollar club.
The latest house price figures from OneRoof and its data partner Valocity show big jumps in the city’s housing market in the last three months of 2020, fuelled by low interest rates and a rush to buy.
READ MORE: Find out if your suburb is rising or falling
Of the 279 Greater Auckland suburbs tracked by OneRoof, 179 had median property values of more than $1 million by the end of 2020, up 45 percent on 2019. That means buyers face a steep deposit requirements for almost of the two thirds of the city.
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The average 12-month gain for the 56 new suburbs joining the million-dollar club was a staggering $220,000 – almost $50,000 more than the 12-month gain for the city as a whole.
Among the new entrants to the club are former entry level suburbs Mangere Bridge, Glen Innes, Onehunga, Glenfield and Point England, where buyers can expect to pay between $1.01 million and $1.21 million for a home.
Ellerslie, in central Auckland, saw one of the biggest surges for a new entrant, with its median value up 33 percent in the last 12 months from $960,000 to $1.28 million, while Unsworth Heights in the North Shore saw the smallest 12-month growth, with its median value up just 12 percent.
Just one suburb dropped out of the million dollar club: Glenbrook, in Franklin, saw its median drop 3 percent in the last 12 months, from $1.025 million to $990,000.
Onehunga’s median value jumped 26 percent in the last 12 months. Photo / Michelle Hyslop
Ray White agent Adam Thompson is not surprised to see the big rise in property values in South Auckland suburbs.
“There’s been a huge influx of home buyers, four times more applications than 12 months ago, but there’s no new property on the market,” he told OneRoof.
Low interest rates and current lending conditions created an influx of buyers in the last few months, with buyers now able to borrow twice as much, he said.
“People realise the mortgage will be the same as paying rent and if they were able to get $1 million before, now they have access to $2.4 million properties, which pushes up competition, demand and prices.”
The surge in the previous working class suburb of Onehunga illustrates the big shifts in the city’s housing market. The suburb’s median value grew 26 percent year on year to $1.12 million.
Bayleys One Tree Hill owner Glenn Baker said Onehunga was becoming an increasing popular area for buyers, adding that existing homeowners in the suburb were investing in upgrades.
A few years ago, a $2 million property sale in Onehunga was a rarity. Now $2 million sales were a common occurrence, Baker said.
He said a lot of money was going into renovations, with refreshed properties going back on the market for higher prices.
“A lot of homes turn around within five years in Onehunga, and, sometimes it’s only a year or two,” he said.
“First home buyers either add on or look to buy something bigger.”
Baker, who also sells in Mangere Bridge, said that while waterfront properties in the suburb can command $2.5 million, two-bedroom apartments were, at $650,000, still in the affordable bracket.
“It's still affordable and that’s why a lot of buyers have headed that way and the market is so busy over there - because it’s still good value comparing to other suburbs equally as close to town.”
He added: “When you get a suburb on the move like this one, it just moves up by itself due to popularity factor. More young families move into a suburb and they entice friends and families to do the same.”
