Hawke’s Bay saw a price increase of 18.4% to a record high of $444,000
The median house price for New Zealand rose 6.9% in February to $530,000 up from $496,000 in February 2017, REINZ has reported.
The median house price for New Zealand excluding Auckland rose even higher, seeing an 8.4% increase to $450,000 from the same time last year.
Prices in Auckland increased at a more moderate 3.7% to $858,000 from the same time last year (up from $827,000) and were up 4.6% month-on-month.
The Hawke’s Bay saw a price increase of 18.4% to a record high of $444,000 up from $375,000 in February 2017 or up 3.3% from January 2018.
REINZ chief executive Bindi Norwell said:“Median house prices increased in 14 out of 16 regions across New Zealand during February 2018 compared to February 2017, including a record high in the Hawke’s Bay.
“The only regions not to experience an increase were the West Coast and Gisborne which saw decreases of 10.7% and 3.1% respectively.
“The Hawke’s Bay has seen record price increases for two months in a row now, with prices having increased $26,000 since the end of 2017. Clearly the region is proving extremely popular.
“Additionally, the recent announcement by the Regional Economic Development Minister, Shane Jones, that nearly $9 million will be spent to reopen the Wairoa-Napier line for logging trains will bring significant development for the Hawke’s Bay region,” Norwell added.
“Auckland’s median price while continuing to slowly creep upwards, is clearly showing signs of moderated growth rather than the double digits we saw throughout 2016 and 2017. This is far more positive for the region as we know double-digit increases are not sustainable in the long term,” continues Norwell.
The REINZ House Price Index for New Zealand, which measures the changing value of property in the market, increased 3.9% year-on-year to 2,692 – a new record high.
The HPI for New Zealand excluding Auckland increased 6.9% from February 2017 to a new high of 2,524 and Auckland’s HPI increased 1.1% for the same period.
The REINZ HPI showed that 11 out of 12 regions experienced an increase in their HPI and 9 regions saw a new high in February, highlighting the strength of the property market.
Regions with the highest growth year-on-year were Gisborne/Hawke’s Bay +16.0%, Southland +12.3%, Northland +10.4% and Manawatu/Wanganui +10.2%.
