"October marked a massive turning point for the region," property sales director says
Wellington property prices plummeted by a record-breaking 7% over the year to October and were down by more than $100,000 from the market high, the latest Trade Me Property Index showed.
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According to the property website, the average asking price for a property in Wellington was $871,050 in October, down by 6.9%, or $64,350, from $935,400 at the same period the prior year.
Gavin Lloyd, Trade Me property sales director, said the result was Wellington’s largest annual drop on record, with the region’s asking price now $122,000 lower than the all-time high of $993,150 in March. This followed an annual 3% drop last month, Stuff reported.
“What goes up must come down, and following the meteoric price increases seen in the Wellington market over the past few years, October marked a massive turning point for the region,” Lloyd said.
He said the change, however, would be welcome news for many Kiwis, particularly first-home buyers.
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Wellington City was the most expensive district in the region last month, with an average asking price of $972,900. It was followed by Porirua, with $970,600, and Kāpiti Coast, with $912,800.
Nationally, the average asking price was 1.2% higher annually at $904,050 in October, up from last month’s $896,200.
The latest fall followed six consecutive months of decline in the national average, Lloyd said, and it was the smallest price growth since October 2019.
“This is the first time we have seen an annual increase of less than 5% since April 2020, at the beginning of the pandemic,” Lloyd said.
It was not only the Wellington region that recorded an annual drop in prices last month. The average asking prices in three other regions also dropped year-on-year.
Hawke’s Bay’s average asking price was down 3% to $793,550 in October, while Manawatū/Whanganui’s fell 2% to $616,100.
In Auckland, the average asking price fell 3% to $1.14 million in October, from $1.18m at the same period the previous year, but was up 2% on last month’s average of $1.12m. Within the region, Waiheke was the most expensive district, with an average asking price of $1.86m, followed by the North Shore with $1.38m, and Rodney with $1.33m, Stuff reported.
Regions that bucked the declining trend were West Coast, Taranaki, Northland, and Canterbury which reported annual price increases of 16.9%, 16.6%, 11.9%, and 10.7%, respectively.
The Trade Me data also showed that the supply of property rose annually in all regions, with Nelson/Tasman (up 84%), Waikato (up 82%), and Northland (up 70%) seeing the biggest jumps.
Supply nationwide lifted by 43% in October, Lloyd said. The highest number of listings ever was also recorded last month.
In contrast, demand nationwide saw a 17% annual drop in October, with Gisborne, Auckland, and Canterbury posting the biggest declines on a regional basis.
The market often picked up during the warmer months, Lloyd said.
Trade Me’s data followed Quotable Value figures last week, which revealed house prices had dropped by more than 10% in seven centres since the start of the year, with Wellington seeing the biggest decline at 17.6%, Stuff reported.
