PHOTO: The Wellington Report
The Wellington Report 2019 – six years on from the first version – takes an in-depth look across seven days at the city and region in terms of economy and employment, governance, housing, resilience, arts and hospitality, transport, and quality of life.
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, and in this story there was even a twist in the middle.
Welcome to a tale of two cities in 2019 – the Wellington housing and renting markets.
The fracture between renters and home owners in the Lower North Island has been revealed in Real Estate Institute of NZ (REINZ) analysis showing dozens of suburbs where paying a mortgage is cheaper than paying rent.
Of the 77 suburbs from across the wider region that had enough sales and rental data to qualify, more than half were cheaper to pay a mortgage on a median value property than fork out cash to a landlord.
WELLINGTON REGION MEDIAN WEEKLY RENT
Wellington City – $570, up 9.6 per cent year-on-year
Porirua – $570, up 15.2 per cent
Lower Hutt – $550, up 14.6 per cent
Upper Hutt – $485, up 33 per cent
Kāpiti Coast – $470, up 8 per cent year-on-year
South Wairarapa – $430 (no year-on year figure available)
Masterton – $400*, up 27 per cent
WELLINGTON REGION PROPERTY AVERAGE ASKING PRICE
Wellington – $756,300, up 10.4 per cent year-on-year
Porirua – $706,200, up 10.4 per cent
Kāpiti Coast – $592,300, up 8.3 per cent
Lower Hutt – $584,750, up 7.7 per cent
Upper Hutt – $564,800, up 9.6 per cent
South Wairarapa – $515,950, up 11.5 per cent
Masterton – $434,000, up 4.7 per cent
Source: Trade Me, figures for August 2019 unless noted. *July 2019
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