Changes in house value: New QV stats out

Photo / Chris Gorman

First home buyer numbers are rising nationwide, despite Reserve Bank attempts to put the brakes on that segment of the market.

Andrea Rush, QV national spokeswoman, said first home buyer numbers had picked up nationally in April, across all regional markets according to CoreLogic NZ data.

"This would lead us to believe that the LVR changes have resulted in only small changes to the number of sales made to first home buyers and could indicate that they are now finding alternative ways to finance property," she said.

National residential values rose 8.4 per cent over the past year to April and 0.2 per cent over the past three months so they are now 13 per cent above the previous market peak of late 2007. When adjusted for inflation the nationwide annual increase dropped slightly to 6.8 per cent and values remain below the 2007 peak by - 2.9 per cent, QV said.

The Auckland market rose 13.9 per cent year on year and values were up 29.2 per cent since 2007. When adjusted for inflation values rose 12.2 per cent over the past year and are 10.9 per cent above the 2007 peak.

Values in the Auckland city central area are showing the largest increase over the past three months, up 5 per cent since February. North Harbour increased 3 per cent and Rodney North was up 2.9 per cent over the same period.

See the latest QV report here:

The average value of properties in Auckland City East is now $1,043,098 and this part of Auckland is up 14.9 per cent year on year and 30.7 per cent since 2007. Values in Auckland City South increased 0.9 per cent over the past three months, 13.9 per cent since April last year and are 37.7 per cent above the previous peak of 2007, which is a national high.

QV Valuer Bruce Wiggins said values were still increasing but at a slower rate than last year and some properties were taking a little longer to sell.

"The number of sales is down on late mid to late last year and we have begun to see price reduction stickers appearing in some areas, which have been a rarity up until now. This could show that sellers are needing to re-align their sale price expectations to the true market trends and the fact that market conditions are less competitive than they were prior to October last year when the LVR speed limits were introduced," Wiggins said.