Goodbye capital gains: Here’s where house prices have fallen by more than 16%


National home prices have fallen 7.6% since the start of this year and are now just above where they were last August, according to quote value (QV).

But in some parts of the country, the decline has been greater – up to almost 17% from the peak.

The Realty Society’s latest house price index shows more weakness in the market and a national average price of $973,848 in August.

That was down from January’s high of $1,063,765, and meant it was up just 1.1% from $963,046 at the same time last year.

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Nationally, prices fell 5.5% in the three months to the end of August, and they also fell in all major centers except Queenstown during the quarter.

But it was Wellington who was hit hardest. Prices in the region have fallen 14.2% since the start of the year and 9.4% over the past three months.

The region’s average price peaked in January at $1.09 million, and since then has fallen $160,941 to $932,024 in August. This time last year it was $1.03 million.

Lower Hutt, Upper Hutt and Wellington City saw the biggest declines this year, at 16.7%, 15.7% and 15.1% respectively.

Home prices in the Wellington area have fallen 14.2% since the start of the year.

MONIQUE FORD/STUFF

Home prices in the Wellington area have fallen 14.2% since the start of the year.

QV’s local senior consultant David Cornford said most sellers had now adjusted their price expectations and more buyers were starting to enter the market.

They were starting to see more activity, with an increase in attendance at open fire pits and more sold signs appearing across the region, he said.

“It’s a possible early indication that we’re nearing the bottom of this recession.”

Buyers continued to be spoiled for choice, so sellers had to be competitive on price and presentation to get a result, as the number of days to sell remained long, he said.

The Auckland region has also seen steep price declines, with the regional average falling 9.4% since the start of this year and 5.9% over the past three months, to $1.38 million in august.

This price was down $157,500 from a high of $1.54 million in January, and was only $15,416, or 1.1%, higher than it was at the same time. period last year.

On a quarterly basis, Waitakere, Franklin, Rodney and Manukau saw the largest price declines, down 8.1%, 6.7%, 6.5% and 6.5% respectively, while Auckland City and Waitakere recorded annual price declines of 3% and 0.3%.

Of the major centres, Christchurch and Hamilton saw the smallest quarterly price declines, down 3.6% and 2.4%, to averages of $768,647 and $854,874 respectively.

Queenstown prices rose an average of $1.69 million in August.

Provided / Stuff

Queenstown prices rose an average of $1.69 million in August.

In Tauranga and Dunedin, prices were down 7.8% and 6.7% in the quarter, to averages of $1.09m and $650,969.

Queenstown prices have bucked the trend and are up 4.3% year-to-date and 1.5% over the past three months. That left the city average at $1.69 million in August.

QV chief executive David Nagel said there had been significant price drops now, particularly in major centers where there had been large price increases before.

There were no immediate signs of things improving with interest rates likely to rise further and business confidence declining, he said.

“It looks like it’s going to get harder before it gets easier for sellers. First-time home buyers will continue to struggle to obtain financing with tight credit conditions and affordability constraints.

“Additionally, there are still a lot of new homes in the pipeline, which will further add to the oversupply, putting further downward pressure on prices.”

Reopening borders might help, but there were a lot of people heading overseas, he said.

“The market works much better when the net migration is positive, and that time might not be too many months away.”

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