Tauranga hits record house price

Tauranga’s new record median house price of $905,000 means the city is now more expensive than some Auckland suburbs.

The latest Real Estate Institute of New Zealand figures show median house prices in the Bay of Plenty region reached a record $848,250 — up 26.8 per cent year-on-year.

Record median house prices were also reached in Rotorua District ($617,000), Tauranga City ($905,000) and Western Bay of Plenty District ($855,000).

Tauranga’s median house price had jumped 23.1 per cent from $735,000 in February 2020 and was up 6.2 per cent from $852,000 in January 2021.

Rotorua’s median house price had jumped 21.7 per cent from $507,000 in February 2020 and was up 2.8 per cent from $600,000 in January 2021.

REINZ regional director Neville Falconer said at $905,000 Tauranga City was now more expensive than Auckland’s Franklin District ($827,000) and Papakura District ($822,000).

“Demand for good properties has remained high and purchasers are quick to act on new listings with median days to sell down to 30 days, from 45 days in February 2020,” he said.

“This is the lowest median days to sell for a February month on record.”

Falconer said auctions continue to be a popular method of sale, as 47.8 per cent of all February sales were made by auction, up from 18.9 per cent at the same time last year.

“Access to finance is still difficult, particularly for first-time buyers or purchasers with low equity. Looking forward, we would expect prices to remain under pressure unless we can see an uplift in supply.”