Latest quarterly pricing statistics from the real estate institute show prices have hit a ceiling in popular areas like Oneroa, on Waiheke Island and Paihia, in the Bay of Islands, which have fallen by 16% and 13% respectively to $1.1 million on average.
Other favourites such as Wanaka (down 7% to $1.08 million) and the Coromandel’s Pauanui (down 5% to $770,000) have had corrections.
REINZ chief executive Bindi Norwell said with average prices rising across many parts of the country people may have thought that the dream of a holiday home was out of their reach.
"However, a little bit of shopping around might just mean that a holiday home isn’t as far out of reach as people think."
Real estate agents make the point, however, that pricing also depends on stock availability or new developments coming on stream.
New medium-density housing in areas like Queenstown, for example, have seen average pricing in the resort town tail off by the equivalent of 44%, on the back of more apartments selling during the quarter.
This dropped the average sale price by $425,000 to $530,000.
Ms Norwell said the decline was not across the board.
"Omaha, New Zealand’s most expensive holiday hot spot, saw median prices increase 2% to $1,765,000, up from $1,725,000 at the corresponding time last year.
Lifestyle blocks
If you are keen on gardening, caring for chooks or kunekune pigs, then a lifestyle block near Cromwell or Alexandra could well be rather more to your liking.
According to the real estate institute, lifestyle and small block sales have ramped up significantly over the past three months, with 1806 sales for the period — of a total of just under 7000 valued at $5.6billion for the year to date.
In Otago average prices for this class of property jumped by 24% year on year, selling at an average of $214,830 per hectare, compared to Southland which was selling at an average of $161,366 per hectare.
A block on the West Coast, meanwhile, will set you back around $95,942 per hectare.
However, the average outlay is also more reasonable than buying a bach on the beach, coming in at an average price of $700,000 — though that was $35,000 dearer than the same quarter last year.
Institute rural spokesman Brian Peacocke said the data and average price increase had supported the trend of increasing volumes in the majority of regions throughout the country.
Lifestyle properties, however, do tend to take longer to sell than their city equivalents, with an average time to sell at about 63 days nationally.
PGG Wrightson Real Estate Otago sales manager Craig Bates said the Otago market for lifestyle properties remained buoyant, particularly in Central Otago and the Queenstown Lakes district which were attracting steady interest.
He said the lifestyle market could generally be classed in two segments, farmers looking to downsize and urban people who wanted to get into a semi-rural environment.
"Areas like Wanaka, Queenstown and Cromwell also appeal to international and Auckland buyers while Central Otago spots, like Alexandra, are probably more localised with former commercial farmers buying their small block farms."
The firm’s recent sales include three homes in Cromwell ranging from 5ha to 7ha and a 25ha home located in Alexandra.
