'Like a rocket': Canterbury now NZ's hottest housing market

Canterbury has the hottest housing market in the country right now with the average property...
Canterbury has the hottest housing market in the country right now with the average property value rising 32.7 per cent. Photo: Getty Images
Canterbury has the hottest housing market in the country right now with the average property value rising 32.7 per cent in 12 months.

Figures from the latest OneRoof-Valocity House Value Index show as of November 15, the average house price in the region has risen to $743,000.

OneRoof editor Owen Vaughan said it is well above the annual growth rates of Auckland and the country as a whole.

"The region's housing market has come out of the most recent Covid lockdown like a rocket, recording 9.3 per cent growth in the average property value over the last three months. The highest quarterly growth figure of all the regions," he said.

A frenzy of buying activity in Christchurch (10.1 per cent quarterly growth) and Selwyn (12.7 per cent) has driven much of the lift, but the majority of places in the region have recorded strong growth, he said.

In Christchurch, the city's average property value jumped 34.5 per cent in the last 12 months to November 15. It increased by $193,000 to $752,000.

"A heady pace, which if sustained, would see the city's average property cross the $1 million mark by August next year."

Only one place, Ashburton, has fallen behind. The town's average property value fell 1.9 per cent (-$11,000) in the three months to November 15, although it is still up 22.6 per cent on November 2020.

The average property value in Canterbury has risen 32.7 per cent. Photo: OneRoof
The average property value in Canterbury has risen 32.7 per cent. Photo: OneRoof
The surge has come at a cost. The 20 per cent deposit on a typical Canterbury home is now $148,000 - $36,600 more than November last year.

"However, rising prices have not deterred first home buyers, whose share of new mortgage registrations throughout the year has hovered around 40 per cent.

"Investors have increased their share of new purchases, from 23.3 per cent in quarter one to 24.2 per cent in quarter three," Vaughan said.

Growth booms in Christchurch

Of the suburbs that recorded 20 or more settled sales this year, Papanui recorded the strongest quarterly growth.

The suburb's average property value grew 15 per cent, an extra $100,000 to $767,000.

Also enjoying the heat are:

• Burnside - up 14.20 per cent to $885,000
• Mairehau - up 13.30 per cent to $623,000
• Wigram - up 13 per cent to $833,000
• Somerfield - up 13 per cent to $729,000

Ninety-six suburbs in the city recorded quarterly growth above the national average.

With an average property value of $1.731m, Kennedys Bush is Christchurch's most expensive suburb for real estate, just ahead of Fendalton ($1.713m) and Scarborough ($1.709m).

"Homeowners in the suburb enjoyed growth of 12 per cent over the last three months, so a future where Christchurch has a $2m suburb isn't too far off."

Twenty-six suburbs now have an average property value of $1m or more, up from eight in November last year.

The suburb with the lowest average property value is Birdlings Flat, on the southernmost fringe, but in the city, the cheapest suburb for real estate is Aranui, where the average property value is $443,000.

Read the full OneRoof property report here.

- By Devon Bolger