Average NZ home value surpasses $1m - slowdown predicted - Property News AU/NZ | propertynoise.co.nz & propertynoise.com.au

PHOTO: NZ house price growth. FILE

The average price of a New Zealand home has surpassed $1 million for the first time. But, property analytics firm CoreLogic says there are signs the market is slowing down.

The firm said property values rose 1.9 per cent over December, a slight lift from November’s growth rate of 1.8 per cent.

That puts the average nationwide house value at $1,006,632, based on data in the three months to December 2021.

That figure is higher for Auckland at $1.426 million, Wellington at $1.125 million, and $1.142 million for other main urban areas.

Meanwhile, real estate agency Barfoot & Thompson reported a red-hot Auckland property market, with the average sales price for December, across 911 properties, hitting a record $1,278,647.

Of those, 255 properties sold for more than $2 million.

Peter Thompson, managing director of Barfoot & Thompson, said the figure was 17 per cent higher than at the same time last year, and up 7.4 per cent on the average price for the three months to December.

BARFOOT & THOMPSON: December 2021 Housing Market Update

“The majority of commentators are forecasting that prices will continue to increase in the first half of 2022, but that the rate of increase will decline,” he said.

Nick Goodall, CoreLogic’s head of research, said the December figure closes a record 2021 in New Zealand’s property market.

Over the calendar year, property values nationwide saw a 27.6 per cent growth, exceeding the previous record of 24.4 per cent growth in 2003.

“2021 has truly been a remarkable year in the property market, with low interest rates and the continued ability for most borrowers to secure finance both key contributors to persistently strong demand for residential property,” Goodall said.

“It must be acknowledged, though, that both these factors are changing.”

Predicted increases to the OCR and last year’s reinstatement of loan to value ratio restrictions are among the changes expected to have an impact in 2022.