Is the housing market still sluggish in 2023? Frontline agents report crowded open homes as more buyers return at the start of the year!
Is the housing market still sluggish in 2023? Frontline agents report crowded open homes as more buyers return at the start of the year!
The latest QV House Price Index shows that average home values across New Zealand fell 10.3% last year, the largest decline in 15 years and a sharp contrast with preceding years. In 2020 and 2021, average national home values rose 13.3% and 28.4%, respectively, increasing from NZ$724,185 three years earlier to NZ$1,053,315 at the market peak. By the beginning of 2023, the average national home value was NZ$944,767.
From 1 January to 31 December last year, the Wellington region recorded the largest fall in average house values among New Zealand's main urban centres (-18.6%). Palmerston North (-15.7%), Hastings (-13.4%), Auckland (-12.3%) and Napier (-11.6%) rounded out the five largest declines. The smallest declines, or a gain, were recorded in New Plymouth (-2.5%), Marlborough (-1.5%) and Queenstown (+5.9%). Queenstown's house values were the most resilient, making it the only area to record growth in 2022.