Bay property values edge higher

A lack of listings in Canterbury and Auckland has continued to drive an already heated real estate market. Photo / File

Napier and Hastings property values are on the rise but Central Hawke's Bay is lagging behind, new figures show.

The latest Quotable Value figures for August, released this week,show the average current value for a Napier property is $322,021, while Hastings sits at $302,325 and Central Hawke's Bay at $194,789.

Napier values rose 2.3 per cent over the last 12 months, compared to Hastings at 3.9 per cent.

Central Hawke's Bay values, however, plunged 8.8 per cent year-on-year.

Despite the growth in Napier and Hastings, Hawke's Bay property values remain well down on their 2007 market peak.

Property values accelerated last month nationwide, as a lack of listings in Canterbury and Auckland continued to drive an already heated real estate market, prompting the Reserve Bank to impose low-equity home loan lending restrictions from next month.

Harcourts Hawke's Bay business owner Kaine Wilson, based in Hastings, said low stock numbers were resulting in more multiple offers, leading to a price lift.

The last two weeks had seen a "massive upsurge" in buyers making decisions.

"First-home buyers are just buying as quickly as they can and that's naturally resulting into competition and it will have an effect on prices lifting."

A number of higher end properties worth more than $1 million had also become available with the warmer spring weather.

Harcourts Central Hawke's Bay business owner Michael Harding, based in Waipukurau, said the 8.8 per cent fall in values reflected a drop in employment and a constant supply of housing.

"The last 12 months have been fairly steady ... but the supply has been there so we haven't seen the increase in prices that Auckland's seen.

"Supply is getting shorter again now so that suggests if purchasing activity continues then that would possibly see an increase in prices."

According to QV, property values across New Zealand rose at an annual pace of 8.5 per cent in August, from an 8.1 per cent annual pace a month earlier.

"Auckland and Canterbury are still driving the national increase in values, with the other main cities seeing limited growth," QV research director Jonno Ingerson said.

Auckland property values rose 3.3 per cent on a rolling three-month basis and were up 13 per cent in the last year, while Christchurch values were up 2.7 per cent on a three-month basis, and 11 per cent year-on-year.

The rapid lift in house prices in the country's two biggest cities raised fears of an asset bubble emerging, sparking the impending restrictions on high loan-to-value ratio (LVR) lending by banks.

Mr Ingerson was sceptical the Reserve Bank plan would succeed in taking the heat out of the market, saying a lack of supply was the main cause of the increase.

"While the LVR limits may have some dampening effect on values, we should still expect them to increase for some time yet," Mr Ingerson said.APNZ