Auckland property prices rose by $6,700 a week last year
New Zealand’s median house price is now higher than $1 million, a first for the nation, according to CoreLogic.
The data tipped over the symbolic $1 million barrier in the last CoreLogic House Price Index of 2021, with the national average now catching up with some of the bigger cities.
Auckland pushed as high as $1.43 million, with Tauranga and Wellington also north of the $1 million mark, albeit not as far ahead.
The numbers were pushed by accelerating growth rates, with Tauranga house prices going up by 30% year on year and Wellington prices rising by 30.6%.
The South Island remained the cheapest place to buy a house in New Zealand, with Christchurch and Dunedin registering an average value of $744,000 and $714,000 respectively.
Though starting from a lower base, Christchurch saw the biggest year on year growth in the country, with prices going up by a massive 38% in 2021 and almost 12% just in the last quarter of 2021.
In real dollar terms, the average Auckland house price rose by $6,700 a week last year. Though that figure is startling, it pales into comparison with some of the figures seen over the Tasman: on Sydney’s Northern Beaches, prices rose AU$13,000 per week in 2021.
Read more: Auckland property prices likely to fall in near future
Despite the symbolic median house price barrier being breached in New Zealand, experts are now warning that the market may well have peaked.
Rising interest rates and changes to lending regulations will likely make it much harder for the market to continue at the same pace that it has in recent years.
“Since the changes to the Credit Contract and Consumer Finance Act (CCCFA) on Dec. 1, 2021, which brings greater scrutiny of a potential borrower’s expenses and ability to repay their loan, feedback from mortgage advisors has been very strong that the tightening has gone too far,” said Nick Goodall (pictured), head of research for CoreLogic in New Zealand.
