NZ property values on the up

New Zealand property values have increased 0.4% in the past three months and 3.1% in the past year, new figures reveal.

Values are now 2.9% below the former market peak of 2007, according to the latest QV index.
Glenda Whitehead, QV valuer, said: “Nationwide values have once again increased slightly in the past month, continuing the trend that has persisted for the past year. The marginal drop in values in March appears to have been a temporary blip.”

Whitehead added that sales are performing at their best since 2007. “Some of the increase in activity has been due an increase in confidence amongst home buyers, releasing some of the pent up demand caused by several years of lower than usual sales activity," she said. "First home buyers are also active in most of the main centres, in part encouraged by the Welcome Home Loan package and low interest rates.”

“Buyer numbers are well in excess of the relatively low listing levels. This imbalance continues to see sale prices climb with buyers seemingly less financially restricted and keen to outbid each other, typically at auction or through pre-auction offers.

“Some of this activity is a counter balance to a long period of inactivity which has caused pent up demand. Agents have also indicated buyer numbers are being bolstered by New Zealanders returning from overseas.”

QV valuer Paul Thomas has said: “Lower end properties are receiving the most interest with first home buyers entering the market, as younger couples with smaller deposits have also been able to enter the market for the first time in years due to the Welcome Home Loans programme. The price floor for entry level properties is also now heading below $200,000 which is unheard of in Tauranga in the last four years. The remainder of the residential market is ticking over but really no more.”

According to valuer Tim Gibson demand is highest for lower valued properties, “Buyers in this lower bracket appear to be a good mix of first home buyers and investors, with more outside investment being identified due to perceived affordability in the south.”

Values in the Auckland area increased 0.6% and in Hamilton 0.5%, over the past three months, the report also recorded.

Property values are varying across the country according to Whitehead, “The financial position of buyers appears to be a key driver for whether prices in suburbs are rising or remaining more stable. Properties in the inner leafy suburbs, including Old Auckland City, that command values in excess of $800,000, continue to be in strong demand," she said.

http://www.opp.org.uk/news-article.php?id=6506