Tag Archives: Christchurch real estate updates

Christchurch Real Estate

RBNZ Hikes OCR: Christchurch housing market prices under check

person By Hadar alarm 18th Dec, 2021
Christchurch housing market prices

The last quarter witnessed Christchurch housing market prices soar to their highest in three months. A growth of 8.8% in three months, helped the metro depict the biggest growth of all the seven major housing markets in NZ. While the housing prices in Christchurch are the lowest among these metros. The incumbent hike in the Official Cash Rate (OCR) by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) is expected to further check the Christchurch housing prices- According to Christchurch housing market predictions from experts.

New demand to combat OCR hikes
The RBNZ introduced a 0.75% hike in the OCR, as of the final policy meeting of the calendar year. Experts inferred an increase in rates by 25 basis points; a survey concluded that investors had, however, expected a hike along the lines of 50 basis points. Press statements from the RBNZ report that this was a highly likely scenario; although, the RBNZ meeting finally signed off on 25 basis points as the best option at hand.

The Government however looked to soften the blow of the OCR hike by reopening its borders in 2023. This spells new consumers and increased housing demand even as NZ looks to recover from a swap rate drop of 20 basis points in two years. Christchurch housing market news indicates strong a demand for quality housing in Christchurch suburbs for buyers with debt or on a budget.

This demand is also expected to help stave off the pressure from domestic and foreign (especially South Korea and Singapore) central banks curbing stimulus options to consumers. All of this spells a positive final quarter of the calendar year for the dark horse of NZ’s major metros.

Also read:

Christchurch Housing Market Reports Quarterly Growth in Average Home Prices

What does this spell for the Christchurch housing market?Christchurch housing market updates suggest a hike of up to $58,000 in the last quarter. While the initial stimulus may have flared up the house prices, the present OCR changes can pave the way for housing demand. The resultant property market boom works hand-in-hand with inflation hitting 4.9% and unemployment reaching its lowest (3.4%) in a decade.

By mid-2022, the OCR is expected to reach a 2% hike. Forecasts from the RBNZ itself indicate a rise up to 2.5% in the OCR by 2023, and even higher by December 2024. Even as interest rates are expected to increase, the employment and investment opportunities spell a greener pasture for both sellers and buyers of Christchurch, in the coming days.

Christchurch Real Estate

Christchurch Housing Market Reports Quarterly Growth in Average Home Prices

person By Hadar alarm 12th Nov, 2021
Christchurch Housing Market 

New Zealand’s average home property values have jumped by 5% to $1021 million in the past three months. The slow, but steady growth rate accounts for an increment of $45,000 in the average housing property value; and, thus is a bearer of good tidings in a Christchurch housing market deprived by the lockdowns and new governmental LVR policies for banks.

How is the Christchurch housing market contributing to average NZ home value growth?

Marlborough exhibited the sharpest decline in the last couple of quarters (from 8.8% to 1.2%); growth in Southland also dropped from 4.2 to 3.6%. But, Otago, Canterbury, Nelson, Auckland, and Northland have all registered, at the very least, a percentage of growth between the last two quarters. At a time when growth has slowed in 11 out of 16 of NZ’s regions, Auckland is still going strong.

Christchurch’s October average house prices are at $1.451m, which is $74,000 more than the previous quarter. Christchurch’s growth has helped bolster the whole Wellington region’s average housing price around the $1 million mark. Things are also looking up for the Bay of Plenty, Tasman, and Waikato as they are on the brink of joining the ‘$1 million club’ with average housing prices at $987,000, $942,000, and $914,000, respectively.

But Christchurch housing market updates suggest that prices here have steadily climbed in the last two years. So much so, that some first-time buyers are finding it difficult to catch up to the momentum of the market. Even that challenge might be a thing of the past, as explained below.

The Christchurch housing market average property value is the lowest of all the seven centers. Its jump to 8.8% of growth takes its property value average to $718,000. Tauranga has seen s growth of 6.5% to $1.138m; Queenstown Lakes’ average house prices are up by 6.4% to $1.624m; and, Hamilton reports a 4.7% increase to $866,000. Wellington itself is up by 3.6% to $1.231m.

New zoning reforms to further boost Christchurch housing market housing crisis

Notably, this increment is still lesser than the 6.1% increase that was documented in the previous three-month period, according to statistical reports by leading realty market analytics agencies. However, given the slowdown in buyer activities in these months, Christchurch housing market predictions are indicative of positive factors for a post-pandemic lockdown market; such as multi-housing prospects on the same lot/unit are being discussed as a means to ease burdens. This should also greatly multiply the number of listings usually available in the market.

This would definitely cut the average housing price by a large margin by creating more home options in quality locations.  The government is further striving to mitigate the single-family zoning policy in NZ’s five biggest metros. Cities such as Christchurch, Wellington, and Auckland are soon going to permit owners to build up to three housing units, to a maximum height of three stories. This should help curb the problems with affordable housing. The legislation has been enough to inspire housing advocates in British Columbia.