Auckland house prices continue upward march

  • 05/09/2016
The number of suburbs in Auckland with a median sale price below the Government's $500,000 'affordable' definition has shrunk to just five (Getty)
The number of suburbs in Auckland with a median sale price below the Government's $500,000 'affordable' definition has shrunk to just five (Getty)

New data shows 90 of Auckland's 210 suburbs now have an average house sale price of more than $1 million.

Property analyst company Corelogic says prices in 16 suburbs have more than doubled since 2007. Forrest Hill is up 111 percent, Hillcrest up 106 percent and Sunnynook 107 percent.

But Corelogic researcher Nick Goodall says there's room for more growth.

"More and more we're talking about Auckland as an international city these days. If you compare the number of million-dollar suburbs in Auckland compared to Sydney, we're still well behind. Their most-expensive suburb is Potts Point, which is about $5 million median."

The number of suburbs in Auckland with a median sale price below the Government's $500,000 'affordable' definition has shrunk to just five.

Corelogic data shows the priciest Auckland suburb is Herne Bay, at a median $2,265,050. Neighbouring St Mary's Bay is close behind on $2,055,350. They're followed by Remuera, Stanley Point, Epsom, Campbells Bay, Westmere, Orakei, Ponsonby and Mission Bay - the latter costing $1.6 million on average.

Tuesday's Quotable Value report is expected to show the average Auckland-wide price hitting $1 million for the first time.

Tauranga, Rotorua and Hamilton prices are increasing faster than Auckland, as buyers priced out of the super city look elsewhere. Tauranga's up 20.5 percent in a year, and Rotorua and Hamilton are both up 17 percent.

While much of the blame has been placed on speculators, land-bankers and foreign investors, Mr Goodall says many Auckland suburbs are getting pricier because they're getting improved infrastructure, particularly transport.

"Anything that's along good transport lines, obviously that's a big focus, people having to commute. That's why I think a lot of these parts of south Auckland [are getting more expensive] - that trip down south, or trip from south into the city is improving."

Mr Goodall adds that changes made to land zones in the Unitary Plan will affect growth, with new builds having potential to further increase the value of an area.

In 2007, 80 of Auckland's 210 suburbs cost less than $500,000 on average. Now it's five - Grafton, Manukau, Wellsford, Parakai and Auckland central, the latter of which has a large proportion of small apartments.

Corelogic data also shows 46 percent of all buyers in Auckland already own multiple properties - a sharp rise from 41 percent at the start of the year.

Newshub.