New house stats: Auckland pushes price increases

Auckland propped up New Zealand property values for another month in September as the market continues to slowly recover from its downward spiral over the past few years.

Property values were 0.7 per cent higher in September than the same time a year ago, and are just 4.6 per cent off the 2007 peak, according to government agency Quotable Value New Zealand. That's mainly off the back of the Auckland market, where property values have increased 3.7 per cent this calendar year and are 0.6 per cent above the market peak four years ago.

"Nationwide property values have been gradually increasing for the past six months," research director Jonno Ingerson said in a statement. "Much of the nationwide increase over the past few months can be attributed to Auckland, and to a lesser extent, Christchurch."

The data comes on the heels of Real Estate Institute figures, which showed sales volumes are still struggling, and the recovery slowed in September. The property market stalled last year amid a lack of demand for new housing as households focused on repaying debt rather than adding new borrowing.

Auckland property values were 3.4 per cent higher than in September, with an average sale price of $529.028 over a rolling three month period, while Wellington values fell 2 per cent over the past year, with an average sales price of $433,714.

Christchurch values are 2.1 per cent higher than a year ago, and the average sales price was $380,374 in September, while Dunedin values were 2 per cent lower than in September 2010, with an average sales price of $266,073 through the period.