This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
NEW Zealand residential property prices have fallen a further 6.6% over the past year to October, according to QV Valuations.
This is down on the 5.8% decline reported in September.
The average New Zealand sale price for October remained steady at $NZ379,290.
QV Valuations’ Blue Hancock said property values have declined further in most parts of the country.
Across the Auckland area property values are down 7.7% compared to the same time last year, declining slightly from the -7.0% reported last month. Hamilton City’s values have also dipped slightly further to -9.0%, Tauranga to -7.9%, the Wellington area to -6.1% and Christchurch to -7.8%. Dunedin improved slightly to -8.2% compared to the -8.5% reported last month.
There is more variability in the change in property values across the main provincial centres. Whangarei (-8.5%), Rotorua (-9.4%), New Plymouth (-8.1%), Queenstown Lakes (-8.1%) and Invercargill (-4.6%) have all declined further. Wanganui (-6.0%), Palmerston North (-9.5%) and Nelson (-4.9%) also declined further, but only slightly. The year on year change in Gisborne remains unchanged at -10.1%, while Napier ( 4.3%) and Hastings (-5.0%) have both recovered slightly.
“Activity levels remain unusually low, especially considering that spring usually brings an upsurge in the number of house sales. Poor weather across most of the country, plus the school holidays, probably contributed to this.
“There appears to be uncertainty in the market, with many buyers and sellers waiting to see any impact from the financial crisis, dropping interest rates and the election before committing to property transactions” Hancock concluded.
Australian Property Journal
