Most of Auckland's eastern suburbs are experiencing a post-COVID revival, says REINZ
Auckland's eastern suburbs have started recovering from the COVID-19 lockdown – with Kohimarama taking the top spot, according to recent numbers from the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ).
The latest data from REINZ revealed that Kohimarama experienced a 46.2% year-on-year increase in median house prices, from $1,385,000 for the three months ended June 2019 to $2,025,000 for the three months ended June 2020.
“With lots of Kiwis coming home from offshore locations due to the global effects of COVID-19, we're seeing an uplift in demand for properties that ‘tick all the boxes’ from a family perspective,” said Bindi Norwell, chief executive officer of REINZ.
“Key on the list is being close to the beach, playgrounds, parks, having a decent backyard but still being practical in terms of access to the city, and being in a good school zone – Auckland's eastern suburbs seems to tick most of those boxes.”
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Glendowie ended up in second place with a 37.0% increase in median house prices from $1,350,000 to $1,850,000, and Parnell followed with a 36.7% increase from $1,035,000 to $1,415,000.
However, other suburbs still need to catch up in terms of post-COVID price uplift, with both Mission Bay and Stonefields still not seeing an increase in prices from the same period last year.
“A deep-dive into what's happening in Mission Bay and Stonefields just revealed a shift in property type with more townhouses being sold in Mission Bay and more apartments being sold in Stonefields – both of which tend to be at a lower price point than stand-alone residences. We would expect these two suburbs to catch up to the rest of the Eastern Suburbs in the coming months,” Norwell concluded.