Auckland housing bargains can still be found, but act quickly

The number of Auckland suburbs that have hit an average $1m mark has jumped from 43 to 50 in just two months. Photo / Chris Loufte

Only 10 Auckland suburbs have average house prices under $500,000.

Just a handful of Auckland suburbs remain with average house prices under half a million dollars, new figures reveal.

The latest QV.co.nz E-Valuer statistics show only 10 of Auckland's 167 suburbs have homes with a median value under $500,000. The number of suburbs that have hit an average $1m mark has jumped from 43 to 50 in just two months.

Real Estate Institute of New Zealand chief executive Colleen Milne said there were still opportunities for first-time buyers but they had to move quickly.

"These properties are quickly sought out," Milne said.

All 10 suburbs are in South Auckland: Otara, Otahuhu, Clendon Park, Waiuku, Red Hill, Papakura, Manukau, Manurewa East, Weymouth and Randwick Park. Wellsford, north of Auckland, is also in that bracket.

Previously affordable suburbs of Mangere East, Manurewa, Favona, Rosehill and Clover Park surged ahead in the past two months and now have a median price above $500,000.

At the other end of the Auckland market, the suburbs with a new median price of more than $1m were in new areas or close to the water.

Bucklands Beach, Shelley Park, Somerville, Wai O Taiki Bay, Chatswood, East Tamaki Heights and Waiheke Island's Onetangi broke through $1m last month.

The figures will add pressure to the Auckland Council and the Government, which are wrestling with the challenge of a city needing 100,000 new homes over the next 10 years, according to a council report released last week.

Andrea Rush from QV.co.nz said the suburbs that had pushed past $500,000 had been a popular first step "particularly the new-builds in these areas that they can purchase with only a 10 per cent deposit".

The release of the QV.co.nz E-Valuer statistics comes a month after the Massey University Home Affordability Report showed Auckland residential properties are 56 per cent less affordable than elsewhere in New Zealand.

The report, comparing weekly earnings with house prices and mortgage interest rates, found Auckland affordability fell by 25 per cent over the previous 12 months.

The figures show popular areas of St Johns, Forrest Hill and Belmont are teetering on the edge of $1m. They are expected to be next to reach the mark.

Auckland's exclusive Herne Bay is the only suburb with a median value of $2m. But five other suburbs, including Westmere and Campbells Bay, now have a value higher than $1.5m.

Milne believed more affordable properties would come on the market as spring approaches.

REINZ research showed a growing number of investors unable to buy in Auckland were buying within a commute to the central city.

That include Rodney and Pukekohe. Milne said pressure on the supply of property should be eased by changes to the building consent application process and proposed housing reforms in the region.

"The key focus of the Housing Accord and the Unitary Plan changes will assist in the supply of affordable housing," she said.

Under the proposed Unitary Plan, more town houses and apartments will go up in suburbs surrounding the central city.

Developers will also have the power to increase the density of dwellings they build, including up to four units per property in some suburbs.