Housing market turns but big bounce not expected

The market has had positive growth for the first quarter since the market started its slump in late 2021. Prices rose 0.5% to reach an average home value of $893,639. This growth has been boosted primarily by first home buyers outside the main urban areas.

But values continue to track down across most of the main urban areas, with just Tauranga (0.6%), Marlborough (0.2%), Christchurch (0.1%), Queenstown (0.8%), and Invercargill (1.5%) in the black this quarter.

The latest Quotable Value (QV) House Price Index shows the rolling three-monthly rate of reduction has slowed in Auckland (-0.5%), Wellington (-0.6%) and Palmerston North (-0.3%), and increased by less than a percentage point in Whangārei (-2%), Hamilton (-0.7%), Rotorua (-1.4%), New Plymouth (-0.1%), Napier (-1.6%), Hastings (-2.5%), and Dunedin (-1.7%).

QV operations manager James Wilson says taking a good look at the housing market at a high level, things are beginning to look a little healthier now. “For the first time in a while we are seeing value increases in some areas – especially in places where there is strong demand for entry level housing.”