House prices in every New Zealand suburb are higher now than five years ago, according to new figures from OneRoof and its data partner Valocity.
But there are 10 lucky suburbs that have seen prices more than double. Most of the biggest jumps since March 2019 have been in the country’s lowest priced regions and reflect the strength of first-home buyer activity during the post-Covid boom and slump.
OneRoof and Valocity measured the five-year change in the average property value of every New Zealand suburb with 20-plus settled sales in the last 12 months.
The average property value in each of the 790 suburbs analysed was higher than it was five years ago. The smallest increases were in Auckland, while the biggest percentage rises were in Gisborne, Southland and West Coast.
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At the top of the table is Reefton, in Buller, where the average property value has risen 136% in the last five years to $383,000 – meaning house buyers in the suburb are paying on average $221,000 more than buyers in 2019.
The research also identified the biggest dollar changes over the five-year period. Property values in four suburbs were almost $1 million higher. Three were in Queenstown-Lakes and the fourth was in the wealthy beach town of Omaha, on Auckland’s northern fringe.
The post-Covid market slump pulled down the value gains of most wealthy suburbs, with values in the likes of Herne Bay and Westmere falling between $400,000 and $500,000 from their post-Covid peaks.
The historic gold-mining town of Reefton, home to about 1200 people, is just a great place to live, said Linda Jones, from Property Brokers, who arrived in Reefton from Birmingham in the United Kingdom 37 years ago and is still there.
She said the town had developed a lot in that time but it was still small and without the hustle and bustle of the cities.
The average property value in Lake Hayes, in Queenstown-Lakes, jumped $998,000 to $2.62m in the last five years. Photo / Supplied
There are no buses but you can get a good coffee and there are shops and supermarkets, and it’s easy enough to get to Grey Hospital, an hour away in Greymouth, plus people are incredibly friendly, she said.
“It has become a desirable place for people to live. The houses are still affordable even though they’ve doubled in price because they’re very, very cheap.
“It’s just nice living. It’s relaxed. You’ve got plenty of nice walking tracks, biking tracks for people. You sort of go into another world, really.”
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Businessman and former Aucklander John Bougen has put a lot into the town and that has made a big difference, she said.
“He didn’t buy up the town like people say but he bought a couple of shops on the main street, like the art gallery and things like that, and he tidied them up and it made the other people in town tidy their place up.”
There are families that come to town for the mining work and buy, and there are semi-retired people who can buy an affordable house there and still have a camper van or caravan and go off and live the dream, she said.
“It’s a lifestyle. It’s really relaxed when you get here and it’s still a pretty safe place to live.”
For the $380,000 mark people can buy a good three-bedroom house that is probably a bit dated but still “a good, sensible house”, and for a new house they might pay in the $500,000s.
Jones and colleague Mark Kinley are selling one on Buller Road in the $539,000-plus bracket, which has three double bedrooms, one with ensuite and walk-in wardrobe, and there is a double garage.
A three-bedroom house at 69 Buller Road, in Reefton, Buller, is priced at $539,000-plus. Photo / Supplied
Another three-bedroom Reefton home, at 4 Sinnamon Street, is selling for $319,000-plus. Photo / Supplied
The more expensive houses on the hill can fetch around $800,000, but there are much cheaper houses, too.
“The last one we sold cheap was $190,000 and it was a three-bedroom house on a decent-size section and it was liveable.”
Another on the market is on Sinnamon Street, which is being marketed at $319,000-plus.
“If you are looking for an affordable property and happy to carry on some renovations then this could be the ideal home for you,” said the marketing.
An old villa for sale at 28 Victory Street dates back to 1910 in the records but Jones said it was likely to be a little older than that as most records don’t show much before 1910.
This one is in the $570,000 range with the price reflecting renovations, but she says early character has been retained.
In Patea, South Taranaki, prices have jumped from $136,000 five years ago to $308,000, though First National Collective agent Kelly Baldwin said they have dipped a bit from around the $350,000-$360,000 high after the post-Covid boom.
Patea, in South Taranaki. The town's average property value has more than doubled in the last five years, from $136,000 to $308,000. Photo / Bevan Conley
She thinks the attraction is price and the small central but coastal location.
“If you go back 10 years houses would have been half the price again and would have been about $50,000 to $70,000.”
It’s not first-time buyers driving the interest in the town but mum-and-dad buyers moving to the area who want a mortgage-free change of lifestyle.
“A lot of them have never been to Patea in their life. Some of them have ties here but most of the buyers I’ve dealt with are coming from outside the area.”
That includes Aucklanders, South Islanders, and even Australians, she said.
“It’s all about living within your means and making the most of what you’ve got, and being beside the river and the ocean and having that access, it’s really attractive.”
Some people might put their house on the market in a year’s time if they don’t like the change but the majority of people love it once they get there.
A character home for sale at 21 Egmont Street, in Patea, South Taranaki. Photo / Supplied
On the market for $298,000 in Patea is 35 Victoria Street. Photo / Supplied
One of the properties Baldwin has on the market is in Egmont Street, which she has sold a few times over the last 10 years, and she said that’s another bonus because when people buy a property they improve it, so many houses have been bought and sold and improved over time.
The Egmont Street cottage is under contract but the price ballpark is in the $360,000s and the house has had some fantastic upgrades, according to the marketing, such as a new roof, insulation, new wiring and a gas hot water system.
Another Baldwin has listed is a two-bedroom renovated cottage at 35 Victoria Street, which is on for $298,000 and, she said is very cute.
She is also selling a four-bedroom villa on Albany Street, which dates back to the early 1900s and is set on a flat 1214sqm freehold section.
“It’s a beautiful old villa. It’s four-bedroom, it’s got the pressed tin ceiling and the beautiful living room.”
Also doubled in price in five years is Mataura, in Gore, at the bottom of the South Island, which has gone from $141,000 to $311,000.
A tiny home in Mataura, at 9 Allen Street, is priced at $169,000. Photo / Supplied
Kylie Anderson, sales manager for Harcourts Gore, said that was still cheap and Mataura was not only popular with first-home buyers but with older people living in Gore returning back to where they grew up.
Mataura is about 10 minutes from Gore and properties on the market are not hanging around.
Prices range from $169,000 for a tiny one-bedroom home on Allen Street, which has multiple offers on it, to $389,000 for a big six-bedroom family home in Forth Street with four-car garaging.
Another property, on Oakland Street, requires work but Anderson said it was a very affordable $160,000 and was a “roof over your head”, adding “you’ve got to start somewhere”.
Mataura was like a wee suburb of Gore, she said, which was limited in sections so Mataura took the overflow.
“I suppose it’s one of those towns that had a stigma; the stigma has changed.
“You had the smelly freezing works, they’ve modernised that, and it’s got a real good community feel. It’s had gangs in the past and they are there but it’s not like causing grief or anything.”
When Anderson started in real estate 23 years ago, houses in Mataura were selling for $5000, she said.
People from further away were also now recognising it was a good place to live. There’s a big river and it’s friendly with people from Auckland coming down, and from the likes of Hawke’s Bay and Christchurch.
“Southland is still a very affordable place to go. That’s one thing about Southland, it doesn’t matter what town you go into somebody will always say hello with a smile on their face as you walk down the street.”
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