Canterbury real estate off to a strong start, REINZ reports
The Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) reported a record high for Waimate District’s median house prices at $460,000 in January 2022, up from $405,000 in December 2021 and $265,000 in January 2021.
“Interest from people outside the Waimate District who have different price expectations is one of the major reasons the median prices are through the ceiling,” Harcourts Waimate sales consultant Simon Finch said in an interview with The Timaru Herald.
House sales dropped, however, from 13 in December 2021 and 12 in January 2021 to eight in January 2022, a trend Finch was confident had already started to change with housing stock beginning to increase in Waimate.
“House sales have been lower than average for the season, but that’s starting to change. People are wanting to move, there aren’t many options, but the housing stock is starting to increase,” he said.
In the Timaru District, the median house price for January 2022 was $440,000, up by $15,000 from January 2021. Forty-four (44) homes sold in the district in January 2022, compared to the 62 sold in December 2021 and 65 sold in January 2021. Thirty-one (31) homes were sold in the Timaru Urban area in January 2022.
REINZ ambassador for Timaru Julian Blanchard said sales numbers were normal for January and the median price was consistent in range over the last 9–12 months.
Meanwhile, the median house price dropped from $695,000 in December 2021 to $570,000 in January 2022 in the Mackenzie District, where home sales also dropped from 10 in December 2021 to five in January 2022.
Canterbury had a strong start to 2022 according to the REINZ monthly report, news outlet Stuff first reported, with two districts reaching record median house prices: Waimakariri District at $725,000 and Waimate District at $460,000.
“Despite COVID-19 restrictions in 2021 and the nationwide move to the red traffic light setting in January, Canterbury remained a robust market,” the report said.
“With the removal of the Auckland and Waikato border restrictions in December, interest from out-of-town buyers – particularly those from larger cities, has been high.”
