QV main urban areas commentary: May 2010

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Auckland
Hamilton
Tauranga
Wellington
Christchurch
Dunedin

Auckland
Property values in the Auckland region increased by 8.8% over the past year (calculated over the three months ending May 2010 in comparison to the same period last year), down from the 9.5% annual growth reported in April. The average sale price for the region increased from $532,538 to $534,639.

Glenda Whitehead of QV Valuations said: "QV's numbers for the Auckland region predominantly show growth easing, and this represents the market movement over the year where growth has not been maintained. However, we need to keep this in context of current market direction. The Auckland Region's residential market is essentially flat, and has been since the beginning of the year."

"While it makes for relatively bland discussion in property circles, we get the feeling that some are comforted in knowing that the residential market is stable within the changing mix of other economic indicators. The Budget announcement has yet to have any noticeable impact, and may take months to show through. This may be appeasing the sentiment of some who were worried of the effects. We see no evidence that any major value adjustments will eventuate in the short term. We continue to note that there are pockets of the market which are stalling while others continue to perform well. No one size fits all in this market," Whitehead said.