Slight drop in Rotorua average house values

There was a small dip in Rotorua's average house values last month and one real estate agent says that could be down to the types of properties being sold.

According to the QV House Price Index for October the average property value dropped by $7240 or 1.7 per cent from September to $404,304.

Professionals McDowell Real Estate co-owner and principal Steve Lovegrove said the small change showed the market was starting to become more consistent, which was what Rotorua needed.

"When we see trends of people purchasing lower value investment properties or of people buying the luxury or high end, that can sway the figures by 2-3 per cent.

"My suspicion is that we are currently seeing more of the owner occupied properties being purchased and less of the lower end investment property.

"We had much more investment properties being sold last year and early this year. There is now a suspense while people wonder what's happening in the political field."

Lovegrove said if he took a long term view looking back over five to 10 years Rotorua was in a pretty strong situation.

"Compared to the bigger cities we are still pretty consistent.

"Over the course of the past two years prices went up quite a lot, now we're seeing it settle down and that's a healthy thing."

The average house value in Rotorua has risen 37.7 per cent since the property market peak in 2007 but has slowed over the last three months.

"Owning a home here is generally much more achievable than other cities, yet the city has such a good lifestyle and is dynamic and vibrant," Lovegrove said.

"Our outlook is pretty good. Everybody is just sitting on the edge of their seats wondering what the new government's policies will be and whether they will have any real quantifiable effect."

Lovegrove said, while people seemed hesitant to buy property, his own anecdotal evidence showed listings had risen dramatically in October.

"We went from 120-130 average listings per month to upwards of 200 in October.

"We are waiting to see whether that will be matched by buyer activity or if it will lead to an increase in stock, an increase in choices, if it will soften the prices and take the time pressure off buyers."

He said his hope was that with the additional stock onboard and with the political outcome becoming clearer there would be a "sales flurry" between now and Christmas.

Anita Martelli, co-owner of Ray White Rotorua, agreed October had been a busy month.

"It's shaping up again now to continue into November.

"The market is still busy and buyers are competing for properties."

Martelli said people were holding on through September to wait and see what happened with the government, but Rotorua's market was now looking good.