The most expensive place to move up the property ladder in New Zealand is Auckland, where the price gap between a first home and a second is more than $200,000.
Figures from OneRoof and its data partner Valocity show the current median value of properties bought by first home buyers in Auckland is $770,000 while the median value of homes bought by those trading up is $985,000.
Of the major metros, the cost of moving up the property ladder is smallest in Dunedin, where the price gap between homes being bought by those new to the market and those being bought by existing homeowners is $95,000.
The price gap was a fraction higher in Christchurch ($105,000) and Tauranga ($115,000), and climbed to $145,000 for Hamilton and Wellington and $150,000 for Queenstown.
Start your property search
Nationally, the median gap between first home buyer properties and mover properties was $115,000.
OneRoof editor Owen Vaughan said: "The most expensive place to be a first home buyer and a mover was Queenstown, where the median value of first home buyer properties was $840,000 and the median value of a move home was $990,000.
"However, when we looked at the median area of the properties first home buyers and movers were purchasing and worked out what both groups were paying per square metre, the rankings changed.
"For both buyer groups, Auckland and Wellington were the most expensive housing markets. First home buyer properties cost $1397/sqm in Auckland and $1381/sqm in Wellington, while mover properties cost $1588/sqm in Auckland and $1598/sqm in Wellington.
"Although the cost of buying a home in Wellington is considerably lower for both groups, you don't get much bang for your buck in the capital."
The data showed the cost per square metre in Queenstown for first home buyers was a high $1344 but, surprisingly, the cost per cost per square metre for movers was lower, at $1243, which suggests once you’re on the property ladder in Queenstown things do get better."
The city where both buyer groups got the most for their money was Dunedin, with first home buyer properties costing $648/sqm and mover properties costing $693/sqm.
Of the smaller urban centres, the cost of moving up the property ladder was highest in Hastings, where the difference in the median value of homes bought by first home buyers and homes bought by movers was $212,500 - almost as high as Auckland.
Vaughan said this was due to movers targeting bigger, better quality houses in higher value suburbs in the city. The same could be said for the other second tier housing markets, such as Napier, Nelson, New Plymouth, Palmerston North, Rotorua and Whangarei, where the gap between first home buyer homes and mover homes ranged between $110,000 and $157,500.
First home buyers v investors
The data showed the biggest competition facing first home buyers was investors, with both groups targeting similarly priced and similarly sized properties.
James Wilson, valuation director at Valocity, said: "Across all 65 territorial authorities examined, it was interesting to observe that the difference in the median value of homes bought by first home buyers and those bought by investors was relatively insignificant, at $15,000.
"Furthermore, the difference in floor area for by first home buyer homes and investor homes was only 3sqm; and the difference in land area between the two groups was 21sqm."
Wilson said the numbers backed up anecdotal evidence that first home buyers and investors were seeking out similar properties, but with investors increasingly sitting on the side-lines, first home buyers were now able to plug gaps in the market.
“Interestingly, the areas with the largest differences in median values for first home buyer and investor properties were all smaller regional locations: Hurunui, Kaipara, Waipa, Waikato and Opotiki.
“This appears to be a result of the fact that first home buyers in these locations are targeting the ‘very first rung on the ladder’, which may be housing stock that needs improvements or may have smaller layouts such as one or two bedrooms.
“Whereas investors in these areas are seeking to maximise returns by targeting higher value property in more desirable locations."
