NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather forecasts

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Budget 2025
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
    • Cooking the Books
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • What the Actual
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

Global house prices ease but not in NZ

Anne Gibson
By Anne Gibson
Property Editor·NZ Herald·
20 Aug, 2012 05:30 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

This two-bedroom house on more than 800sq m of land at 23 Watea Rd, Sandringham, was valued at $720,000 but fetched $1.1 million at auction. Photo / Chris Gorman

This two-bedroom house on more than 800sq m of land at 23 Watea Rd, Sandringham, was valued at $720,000 but fetched $1.1 million at auction. Photo / Chris Gorman

New Zealand has one the world's most over-valued housing markets, according to the Economist.

The magazine, which tracks price movements in 21 countries, said years of dizzying ascents were coming to an end for much of the world. But its chart showed NZ is bucking the trend.

The magazine rated our house prices compared to rents and incomes.

Compared to the amount of rental income our houses generate, we rank second most expensive in the world; NZ houses are 66 per cent over-valued, behind Canada. When compared to the disposable incomes of New Zealanders, our houses are 22 per cent over-valued - sixth on the list.

The average figure based on the two comparisons puts our houses in fifth place at 44 per cent over-valued. New Zealand sits behind Hong Kong, Singapore, Belgium and Canada on this measure.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The Economist found house prices fell in 12 of the 21 countries tracked and continue to plummet in Ireland. New Zealand prices were up 3.3 per cent compared to a year ago.

After dropping by a third from their 2006 peak, prices in America now stand at 19 per cent below fair value, the magazine found.

ASB chief economist Nick Tuffley said house prices here had stayed high compared to incomes and would likely continue to rise.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"We may look like we're over-valued and high compared to other countries. We're still likely to see in the short term a little more house-price pressure coming through. We don't have an oversupply of housing in general and we have some fundamental supply constraints in places like Auckland and Christchurch."

Barfoot & Thompson managing director Peter Thompson said house prices here were set by a free, open and transparent market.

"It's what a person is prepared to sell for and to buy for," he said. "I admit it's making it harder for people to get into property. Getting more properties on the market will stabilise it. We're coming into spring so we might start seeing that."

Last month's Real Estate Institute data showed 5907 dwellings sold, 20 per cent up on July last year. Turnover is rising and now stands at 69,222 sales for the past year, the highest total since February 2010.

Discover more

New Zealand

Rents creep up as tenant pool shrinks

15 Aug 05:30 PM
Economy

'Do-up' state houses fetch millions

16 Aug 05:30 PM
Business

Lack of insulation leaves tenants in the cold

18 Aug 05:30 PM
Opinion

Philip Macalister: Insulation plan barely lukewarm

18 Aug 05:30 PM

Last week, a two-bedroom Sandringham house valued at $720,000 fetched $1.1 million at auction. The 1940s weatherboard house at 23 Watea Rd surprised listing real estate agent Christine Wooding at Barfoots. Expectations were more around the mid-$800,000s, she said.

Developers bid against one another for the property, which is on a section of more than 800sq m. She predicted townhouses would be built there.

MOST OVER-VALUED HOUSES COMPARED TO LONG-RUN AVERAGE

* Hong Kong 64%
* Singapore 58%
* Belgium 55%
* Canada 54%
* New Zealand 44%
* France 43%
* Australia 36%
* Britain 20%

MOST OVER-VALUED HOUSE PRICES COMPARED TO RENTS

* Canada 77%
* New Zealand 66%
* Belgium, Hong Kong 64%
* Singapore 58%
* France 49%
* Australia 45%
* Sweden 32%
* Spain 22%

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

MOST OVER-VALUED HOUSES COMPARED TO INCOMES

* Belgium 47%
* France 38%
* Netherlands 33%
* Canada 32%
* Australia 26%
* New Zealand, Spain 22%
* Britain 17%
* Italy 15%

Source: The Economist global house price index

* An earlier version of this story has been amended because the second table headline incorrectly read as 'MOST OVER-VALUED RENTS COMPARED TO HOUSE PRICES'.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Business

New Zealand

Agritech leaders say Budget offers tax relief but lacks bold vision

23 May 04:01 AM
New Zealand

What's in the Budget for agriculture?

23 May 02:00 AM
Business

Pals co-founders: How they went from surfing buddies to RTD moguls

23 May 02:00 AM

Deposit scheme reduces risk, boosts trust – General Finance

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Business

Agritech leaders say Budget offers tax relief but lacks bold vision

Agritech leaders say Budget offers tax relief but lacks bold vision

23 May 04:01 AM

“All of this is a positive step forward, but now we need the next one."

What's in the Budget for agriculture?

What's in the Budget for agriculture?

23 May 02:00 AM
Pals co-founders: How they went from surfing buddies to RTD moguls

Pals co-founders: How they went from surfing buddies to RTD moguls

23 May 02:00 AM
Premium
Regional revival as retail activity rises 0.8% across the March quarter

Regional revival as retail activity rises 0.8% across the March quarter

23 May 12:18 AM
Gold demand soars amid global turmoil
sponsored

Gold demand soars amid global turmoil

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP