House Price Index reveals Aotearoa's property value falls at fastest pace since Global Financial Crisis

Aotearoa's national property values have continued to fall at a rapid pace, dropping at a speed not seen since the Global Financial Crisis, CoreLogic's House Price Index (HPI) found. 

CoreLogic's latest HPI found property value in Aotearoa fell a further negative 0.9 percent in July, seeing the three-month quarter drop in value to negative 2.5 percent. 

"The largest quarterly fall since October 2008, -3.4 percent, when the market was in retreat from the Global Financial Crisis," the report outlined. 

CoreLogic's head of research Nick Goodall said in a statement demand for homes continues to be tight despite the easing of the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act (CCCFA) Regulations.

"Housing affordability remains significantly stretched despite values falling, with the combination of high prices, following a significant upswing in values, and increasing interest rate restricting the number of buyers who are able, let alone willing, to borrow the sums of money required to buy property."

Goodall added that loan-to-value restrictions (LVR) sit at their "tightest setting on record".

"With banks remaining below the allocated 10 percent speed limit. The increase in listing on the market over the past year or so has also switched pricing power towards buying."

Auckland

Property value in the city of sails remains at least 7 percent above the same time in 2021, CoreLogic reports a negative 0.7 percent fall in the month of July, seeing a quarterly fall of negative 4.0 percent. 

"With affordability unlikely to improve significantly while interest rates continue to increase, the

outlook for values across the country is to follow a similar path to the first half of this year for the rest of 2022," Goodall said in a statement.

Goodall added the "controlled nature" of the downturn will unlikely ring alarm bells for those at the Reserve Bank.

"Especially after such a strong upswing in values prior to the end of 2021. Trying to get control of inflation, through OCR increases is likely to remain their number one priority for now.

Wellington

Aotearoa's capital annual rate dropped into the negatives for the "first time in a decade". 

 In Janurary 2012 Wellington's annual rate sat at negative 0.1 percent, today it's at negative 0.3 percent. In the month of July CoreLogic's HPI reports a negative 3.6 percent fall, for the quarter a negative 6.7 percent change. 

"This illustrates a remarkable turnaround after the annual growth rate peaked less than a year ago in October 2021 at 36.1 percent, but has since slowed and now fallen back to take the average value below the same time last year ($1.04m)," said Goodall. 

Christchurch 

The HPI reports property value fell in every main centre, which saw the resilient Christchurch join the team of negatives, for the month of July it saw a negative 1.6 percent change. 

"As we’ve been noting for some time now, supportive factors such as better

affordability in Christchurch may mean that values and demand hold up better than the other main centres through this correction phase. But that doesn’t mean Christchurch will be immune from the downturn."

Dunedin

The annual property value in Dunedin sits at 1.3 percent, but fell a negative 1.3 percent in the month of July "to take the cumulative fall since the start of the year" to negative 5.8 percent.