Barfoot & Thompson managing director Peter Thomson said mounting concerns about the prices being paid and possible future interest rate increases did nothing to dampen July trading. The winter months were normally a time when market activity slowed, and prices and sales could edge lower, but there were no signs of that occurring this year, he said. “High prices are not proving a deterrent to top end property, and we sold 118 homes for more than $2m the month, which was more than double the number we sold in June last year.” While the agency’s figures showed sales for the month were down by 0.6 per cent on June, they were up by 4.5 per cent on the three-month average.
Hamilton central and north-west had the second highest average price at $760,837, up 28.5 per cent on the year and 8.7 per cent over the last quarter. Hamilton south-east recorded an average of $745,294, up 25.5 per cent annually and 8 per cent over the last three months, while Hamilton south-west averages $733,567, up 28.5 per cent on the year and 5.3 per cent for the quarter. The average price hit $672,296 in the Waikato, up 25.6 per cent annually and 8.5 per cent over the last quarter, while prices in South Waikato saw a 23.1 per cent yearly rise to $395,750, up 2.7 per cent in the last quarter. However, in a sign of how hot the market had been running CoreLogic said Hamilton’s 6.1 per cent growth was still strong, though “a noticeable drop from the double-digit increase in the three months to the end of June”.
Photo: RNZ / Dom Thomas
The CoreLogic House Price Index shows nationwide values rose 1.8 percent in July, which is the same rate of growth recorded in June, but down on levels seen earlier this year.
National average property values increased nearly 25 percent in the 12 months to July, taking the average house price to more than $920,000.
The total value of the all residential property in New Zealand had eclipsed $1.54 trillion. The exceptional rate of growth witnessed following the economic recovery after the pandemic-induced lockdown was not sustainable, CoreLogic head of research Nick Goodall said.
He said tax changes, tighter lending rules for property investors and the fact that there was fewer houses to buy was starting to take some of the heat out of the market.
The quarterly change in nationwide increase was starker, as the figure dropped to 5.9 per cent at the end of July from 7.2 per cent at the end of June. Slowing quarterly price increases was evident across all the main centres and most of the other main urban areas. In Auckland, it was down to 5 per cent at the end of July from 5.3 per cent in the three months to the end of June. That left its average price at $1.3 million. Wellington quarterly increase was down to 7.1 per cent from 9.5 per cent, and in Christchurch it was down to 8.4 per cent from 9.6 per cent. The two centre’s average prices were $1.04m and $644,628 respectively.
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