Average house values have gone down another 1.1%, and the research has shown over the past year, house price index is now down 10.5% or an equivalent $109,491.
For the month, Christchurch has seen a fall of 1.4%, and the average housing value is now $735,926. Since March last year, the city has recorded a small decline in average values (-2.9%), which reflects its ideal housing starting point.
To compare, Wellington is down 1.2% this month, and down 20% from last year to an average value of $902,809. Auckland is down 1% in March and has fallen from last year 13.1% to have an average house value of $1,321,661.
CoreLogic NZ Chief Property Economist, Kelvin Davidson, has reiterated that the falls are in context of the 43% surge between March 2020 and March 2022, and has indicated that prices are still currently around 30% higher than pre-Covid.
“Mortgage availability also remains restricted and neither buyers nor sellers are in much rush, meaning market activity is low. These factors make it easy to see why property values are continuing to drop.”
In the future, Davidson says there are still significant near-term challenges in the market, which includes the mortgage repricing decision and a possible recession.
“The housing market ‘mood’ is pretty subdued at present, with both buyers and sellers having become accepting of tough fundamentals and lower prices.
"However, the first marker for this downturn coming towards its conclusion – a mortgage rates peak – now seems to have been reached.
“It’s a bit chicken-and-egg, but the current negative mindset could also shift quickly alongside those other key drivers, adding to the light at the end of the tunnel for late 2023.”