Christchurch housing market turning a corner

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s latest Housing and Construction Quarterly report finds that the Christchurch housing market is showing signs of increased stability.

“Rents in Greater Christchurch have fallen consistently for the last three quarters and are now 1.3 percent lower than in June 2014,” says Peter Ellis, MBIE’s Manager of Energy and Building Trends.

Over the same period, house values in the region are continuing to grow, but at a slower rate - and housing affordability has remained constant.

“The number of residential building consents issued over the last three quarters has also fallen and our forecasts suggest the supply of housing is likely to catch up with demand in Christchurch around mid-2017, slightly earlier than we previously forecast.

“While Christchurch still has a long way to go, there are now definite, clear signs that the market is heading in a more stable direction,” Mr Ellis says.

The report also found that the rate of growth in house and rent prices in Auckland is stabilising.

“Our analysis shows that although rent and house values are still growing rapidly by historical standards, the rate of growth in the cost of houses and rent prices in Auckland is no longer increasing. It has stabilised since December, growing each quarter at about four percent and two percent respectively,” says Mr Ellis.

The New Zealand Housing and Construction Quarterly publication can be downloaded at http://www.mbie.govt.nz/info-services/housing-property/sector-information-and-statistics/new-zealand-housing-and-construction-quarterly-nzhcq

A new set of online rental data tables accompanies this quarter’s release; these can be downloaded at http://www.mbie.govt.nz/info-services/housing-property/sector-information-and-statistics/rental-bond-data

The next edition of the New Zealand Housing and Construction Quarterly will be released in December 2015.

ENDS

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