Growth continues on all fronts

Property values, sale prices and consumer confidence continued growing in September, according to the latest QV residential property figures released today.

Monday, October 12th 2009, 4:00AM

by The Landlord

Nationally, values are now only 1.1% below the same time last year, another improvement on the -2.8% reported in August.

Despite values remaining 7.1% below the market peak of late 2007, they are a healthy 2.7% up from their low in April this year.

Average sale price also improved further in September to $387,567, from $385,426 a month earlier.

"There are signs of more activity in the market with an increase in the number of sales and more listings in many areas," says QV manager Glenda Whitehead.

"This increase in activity is normal for spring but there is still a feeling that activity levels are below normal, with somewhat fewer listings to date this spring than was expected."

Whitehead says QV has seen strong competition among keen buyers in some localities and price brackets for the limited properties available.

"This competition is pushing up many sale prices, as previously unsuccessful bidders offer higher prices in an attempt to secure a property. With prices in some localities rising, this will likely encourage more sellers to put their properties on the market as their price expectations come closer to being met," she says.

Confidence in the market has been steadily improving, although a degree of uncertainty remains, according to the results of the latest quarterly QV.co.nz Housing Survey.

The majority of respondents expect prices to increase over the next year, a dramatic reversal of the last survey's results.

Most of the main centres now have values above the same time last year. In Auckland, values are now 0.6% above September last year, Wellington is up 1.1%, Christchurch 0.4%, and Dunedin 2.2% up on last year.

Tauranga is still 1.8% below last year but has improved rapidly over recent months. Hamilton is the only main centre to drop back slightly and is now 0.9% below last year.

Values in most provincial centres have not risen as much in recent months as the main centres and as a result most are still showing values below the same time last year.

To find out more on the main centres, click here.

« Will Ha have the last laugh?

Free Investment Property Showcase Events: Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch »

Special Offers