Winter holiday home prices steady
It might be a buyer’s market, but prices in ski locations are defying the trend and remaining firm, writes Miriam Bell.
Bargain hunters are ready to snap up deals in the slower property market, but buyers looking for a super cheap winter holiday home might find it harder than they think.
House prices continue to ease on a national basis, and the latest Realestate.co.nz figures suggest there is now a ‘‘buyer’s market’’ in many parts of the country.
Historically, holiday home markets have not fared well in market downturns, but recent analysis shows prices in popular beachside locations were defying the trend and remaining firm.
The reopening of the borders has given a boost to winter holiday locations. So are ski towns feeling the impact of the broader market’s change?
Or could now be the time to pick up a skifield bach?
In the North Island, the Mt Ruapehu ski area reigns supreme and towns such as
hakune, National Park and Raurimu play host to winter holidaymakers.
New CoreLogic figures show median prices in National Park and hakune increased strongly over recent years and have held firm this year.
National Park’s median was $499,250 last month, down from a peak of $503,150 in March but up on the pre-Covid median price of $351,051 in January 2020. Likewise, hakune’s median was $535,200, down from an April peak of $544,650, but up from $366,750 before the Covid pandemic.
But the latest Real Estate Institute figures have price increases in the Ruapehu District slowing, and sales down on an annual and monthly basis.
Cameron Elliot, an agent with Property Brokers Taumarunui, says the area’s market has slowed from the heights of the boom, but sales are happening and prices are holding up.
A pickup is likely in spring as people tend to buy baches in the January to April months, before the ski season starts, and the area’s mountainbiking and tramping trails are increasingly attractive to summer visitors, Elliot says.
‘‘It is a good market for buyers, as there are more properties on the market but less competition.
‘‘Properties are taking longer to sell, as there aren’t multiple offers and people are negotiating, but buyers aren’t making ridiculously low offers.’’
Mt Hutt is Canterbury’s best known skifield, and the town closest to it is Methven. Although it is small and gets a big annual boost from the ski season, it is also an agricultural services town, and it is benefiting from the opening of the puke Thermal Pools and Spa last November.
Over the past year, about 80 properties, including residential, sections, lifestyle, and rural, have sold, and that activity has pushed prices up.
The town’s median house price was $601,300 last month, according to CoreLogic. That was down from a peak of $609,100 in May, but well up on the preCovid median of $429,650 in January 2020.
Fee Ensor, a Bayleys Methven agent, says the town is booming and there are lots of buyers looking for opportunities, whether it is for a holiday home or a permanent residence.
But the market has levelled off, she says. While some properties have had big price increases over the past year, not all have, and there are reasons for the increases.
‘‘There are sections that were selling for around $160,000 to $170,000 last year, and now they are selling for around the $250,000 mark because they have received titles, for example,’’ Ensor says.
Some good properties are on the market, but it is all about trying to get the right balance of price expectations so that the price is good for the buyer and the seller, she says.
Queenstown-Lakes in Otago is the country’s snow sport capital. It is home to a host of internationally famous skifields, and two ski towns, Wānaka and Queenstown.
But the housing market here is different to those in other ski towns. Both are established lifestyle locations and have strong high-end real estate sectors as well as the country’s highest median prices.
CoreLogic figures show that despite a period of uncertainty when Covid first hit,¯medianO prices in Wānaka and Queenstown have increased strongly since. And, in contrast to most areas, they have
Ō ¯ O continued to edge up this year. Wānaka’s median price was $1.86 million in July, up from $1.55m at the same time last year and from $1.25m before the Covid pandemic.
Queenstown’s median was $1.47m, up from $1.33m last July and $1.22m before Covid.
But CoreLogic says price increases in the QueenstownLakes District have started to slow, while Real Estate Institute figures show sales have eased on an annual and monthly basis.
Colliers Wānaka director Craig Myles says there has been no softening in prices in the town’s premium market, and that is being driven by the low level of available high-end stock and unprecedented demand.
Sales are taking longer, and prices are softer at the lower end of the Wānaka market, Myles says.
Strong population growth, which includes a flow of people moving from cities to the town, means there is demand underpinning that sector, too.
‘‘The acceptance of working from home has been at the forefront of people moving to places they want to live, rather than near their office.
‘‘It is expected that Wānaka will continue to grow to meet this demand.’’
In Queenstown, the market has eased off its recent high, with the volume of activity at about 60% of what it was last year, Ray White Queenstown principal Bas Smith says.
‘‘There is always the mercurial high-end market at play here, but that hasn’t slowed down. We’ve recently had two lifestyle land sales for over the $6m mark, which is $1.5m above the previous high, for example.’’
Although the lower end of the market has eased, following some incredible sales last year, it is still ticking away steadily, Smith says.
‘‘But the borders reopening provides support for the tourism and hospitality industries, which is good generally.
‘‘And it opens up the market to more buyers, including people who have reassessed where they want to holiday during the pandemic and Australians.’’