The average value of New Zealand homes is down more than $100,000 so far this year, and almost $200,000 in Auckland and Wellington.
According to the QV House Price Index, the average value of NZ homes was $951,040 at the end of October, down $113,000 since the start of the year.
QV says housing values are continuing to decline throughout the country with the average value declining by 3.9% over the three months to October. In the main urban areas the decline in average values over that time ranged from -0.1% in New Plymouth, to -6.8% in the Wellington Region.
Queenstown-Lakes was the only region to go against the trend, with the average value there increasing by 2.9% over the three months to October (see the chart below for the full regional figures).
So far this year the national average value has declined by $113,000, with the biggest decline of $198,000 or 18%, occurring in the Wellington Region, followed by Auckland -$193,000 or 12%, Tauranga -$129,000, Hastings -$112,000, Palmerston North -$112,000, Napier -$110,000 and Hamilton -$95,000 or 11%.
Those figures and the current rate of decline suggest that by end of this year, average dwelling values in Auckland and Wellington could have declined by more than $200,000 during 2022.
"The traditional spring upswing in the residential property market hasn't amounted to much more than a small speed bump this time around, with few pockets of true home value growth to speak of and only a relatively small decline in the market's downward trajectory these past two months in a row," QV Chief Operating Officer David Nagel said.
"But we have certainly seen a seasonal surge in the number of properties coming on to the market, as spring is often seen as a good time to sell, with longer days and summer looming large on the horizon.
"This has kept downward pressure on prices, especially as interest rates have also risen and are expected to climb further to stifle inflation.
"This year couldn't be much more different to the last one for much of Aotearoa New Zealand.
"At the same time last year the QV House price Index was showing an average home value increase of 22.2% throughout the first 10 months of 2021.
"Now it's showing an average decline of 9.7% over the same period.
"I can't think of two more starkly contrasting consecutive years in my long career as a registered property valuer," he said.
Nagel said he thinks prices will remain soft for some time.
"Though the average rate of decline has slowed somewhat in recent months and it may even continue to slow as summer approaches, increasing volumes of listings are giving purchasers plenty of choice and the upper hand when it comes time to negotiate," he said.
"And with interest rates trending upward, no-one is going to willingly service a larger mortgage than they have to.
"This will likely have a dampening effect on the market for a good while yet," he said.
The comment stream on this story is now closed.
- You can have articles like this delivered directly to your inbox via our free Property Newsletter. We send it out 3-5 times a week with all of our property-related news, including auction results, interest rate movements and market commentary and analysis. To start receiving them, register here (it's free) and when approved you can select any of our free email newsletters.
We welcome your comments below. If you are not already registered, please register to comment
Remember we welcome robust, respectful and insightful debate. We don't welcome abusive or defamatory comments and will de-register those repeatedly making such comments. Our current comment policy is here.