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Spring trend or market rebound? House prices bounce back

September Property Price Index 2024

8 October 2024

Ahead of this week’s OCR and following five months of back-to-back declines, property prices have rebounded in September, according to Trade Me’s latest Property Price Index.

The national average asking price for a property in September was $823,550, up 0.6 per cent from August and the first time since March prices have seen a month-on-month increase.

The West Coast (+3.1% MoM), Northland (+2% MoM) and Bay of Plenty (1.9% MoM) saw the largest increases across the 15 regions Trade Me Property monitors.

Auckland, which saw house prices drop below the one million dollar mark in August for the first time in four years, bounced back from $986,750 to $996,350 in September.

“While 0.6 per cent isn’t a big number it is significant to see positive growth in prices at this point in the year. It suggests that while we’ve endured a challenging winter period, there’s renewed optimism in the housing market,” says Trade Me Property Customer Director Gavin Lloyd. 

“It will be interesting to see what happens with this week’s OCR announcement and whether the trends we are seeing continue over the next month and into Summer.”

The four regions bucking the trend

Eleven of the 15 regions Trade Me Property monitors recorded an increase in the average asking price in September up from just five in August. 

Those regions which saw a drop were led by Nelson/Tasman which saw prices fall -2.3 per cent to $793,850, Taranaki down -2.2 per cent to $631,550, Gisborne -1.4 per cent to $614,600 and Southland down -1.2 per cent to $491,600.

National house prices map month on month change

Record highs for 1-2 bedroom properties in the Garden City

Looking at the major urban centres, property prices for one to two bedroom properties in Christchurch city reached a record high of $549,050 in September, up 3.4 per cent on the same time last year. Ōtautahi also saw an increase in the average asking price for units up 6.1 per cent year-on-year to $471,150. 

“It’s interesting to contrast what we are seeing with five or more bedroom properties in both Auckland and Wellington. While Auckland shows strong growth in average asking prices for larger homes up 7.2 per cent year-on-year, it’s the opposite in Wellington where prices are down 17.5 percent for properties of the same size.

“There’s also a substantial price difference between those larger properties - in Auckland the average asking price for a five plus bedroom house is close to a million dollars more than for a similar sized property in Wellington,” says Mr Lloyd. 

Urban centres property prices

Supply up while demand cools slightly

The nation’s housing supply remains strong, up 23 per cent year-on-year and 1.0 per cent on August. 

Gisborne recorded the biggest increase in the number of properties available compared to September 2023, up a significant 64 per cent, with Wellington (+44%) and Otago (+35%) also showing plenty of supply.

Interest in properties on the market cooled slightly between August and September (-2.0%) but remains 17 per cent higher than the same time last year. This year-on-year demand has spiked in Gisborne (+35%), Auckland (+24%) and Hawke’s Bay (+22%).