According to data from OneRoof and Valocity, southern suburbs recorded the largest percentage change in average property values in the six months to July.
Of the 907 suburbs across New Zealand, the top 29 were all in Dunedin, Waitaki, Gore and Southland.
Concord topped the list with a $61,000 (11.1%) increase in average property value to $611,000, followed by Te Anau (10.1%), Forbury (8.9%), Otematata (8.7%), Helensburgh (8.4%), Opoho (8%), Winton (8%), Outram (7.7%), Waldronville (7.6%), Kew (7.5%) and Gore (7.4%).
Only suburbs with more than 20 settled sales over the past year were displayed and the data did not list any Dunedin suburbs as having decreased in average property value or stayed the same over the six-month period.
Bayleys Dunedin managing director Chris Maclean said he was not surprised by the findings, but was shocked by how many of the city’s suburbs had ranked so highly.
It was mostly locals who were buying houses at present, as opposed to out-of-towners, which suggested ‘‘the wee Dunedin bubble is strong’’, Mr Maclean said.
The first-home buyer and investor markets were tracking strongly at present, which he believed might have translated into the increase to affordable suburbs such as Forbury.
Concord was a reasonably affordable hill suburb and its 11.1% rise was ‘‘significant’’.
Dunedin was one of the most affordable cities in the country which made it an attractive place to live in, Mr Maclean said.
The property market affected everyone, whether buying, renting or already owning a home.
‘‘Having the positivity that your biggest asset is appreciating is good for the homeowners.
‘‘Also the fact that our average selling price is still lower than the other places gives first-time buyers a real opportunity to purchase as well.
‘‘We haven’t priced ourselves out of that market which is why it’s so strong, I think, in Dunedin.’’
NZ Property Solutions director Denise Casey also noted the number of first-home buyers in the market and the amount of competition between them.
They seemed to comprise a large proportion of buyers out there at present.
The vast majority of the Dunedin suburbs listed were hilly and tended to consistently do well, Ms Casey said.
‘‘For Dunedin, we seem to escape the massive peaks and troughs of some of the other markets across the country.
‘‘Probably a little surprising given the market has been patchy across Dunedin, but it’s still relatively stable.’’
The city was coming from a much lower base than some of the other main centres out there, so there was more room for upward growth than say Auckland or Wellington.
‘‘We’re a far more affordable city compared with some of the bigger cities across the country.’’
The data was great news for Dunedin homeowners and would no doubt be a welcome relief given people were already fairly stretched.
‘‘I think that it’s a positive thing to know that your greatest asset isn’t losing value, and I think for a lot of people they’re seeing their asset go up in value.
‘‘How can that not only give comfort to people in times when things are a bit tough?’’
According to the data, the average property value was $691,000 in Dunedin and $2,178,000 in Queenstown-Lakes, up 4.2% and 2.1% respectively since the start of the year.
The national average dropped 0.2%, to $961,000.
Arrowtown had the second-largest change in actual dollar value of $94,000, bringing its average property value to $3,178,000.
Of the Dunedin suburbs, Māori Hill had the biggest change of $69,000, with an average property value of $1,066,000.
