A shortage of student accommodation is driving demand for homes in Ilam and Avonhead, with many parents choosing to buy for their children instead of betting on the rental market.
All four bidders at the auction for the Montclare Ave property in Ilam were parents of students at the university. Three were from Auckland and one from Canterbury.
Griffioen agent Jonathan Borck told OneRoof the buyer was from Auckland. He was visiting his son in Christchurch and bought the house at the same time. He had been looking for about three months for a house for his son to live in with friends.
The action opened at $800,000, with the property announced on the market at $1.235m. The hammer came down $28,000 later. The vendors pocketed almost $150,000 more than what they paid three years ago at the peak of the market.
“They were just super happy. It exceeded everyone’s expectations,” he told OneRoof.
Griffioen owner Caleb Griffioen said the buyers had been looking for a long-term housing solution for their children, and they weren’t alone in wanting that. Buyers like them often wanted properties within walking distance of the university and with enough rooms to rent out to friends or flatmates for additional income. Off-street parking was also desirable.
“With University of Canterbury halls at full capacity, families are turning to the private market to provide certainty, quality, and proximity to campus. We’re seeing more and more parents view this as both a lifestyle solution and a long-term investment,” he told OneRoof.
Bayleys agent Angela Webb said some people were looking to buy now, even if their child did not need accommodation until 2027. The spike in demand was pushing up prices in Avonhead, Sockburn, Riccarton, Upper Riccarton, and parts of Burnside.
Webb, who specialises in selling investment properties, recently sold a seven-bedroom, three-bathroom 1940s weatherboard home on Wharenui Rd, Upper Riccarton, to an investor for $879,000, which was $209,000 above the RV.
“It is one market that people are making money in.”
Hamish Wilson, managing director of A1 Property Managers, said the firm had just started advertising its student flats for 2026, and the number of applications was overwhelming.
Eighty groups had lined up to view a five-bedroom, three-bathroom Ilam house priced at $205 a week per room.
Wilson said having 400m-long lines of people waiting to see a property was becoming common because there were nowhere near enough properties to meet the growing demand.
