Young snap up property in Canterbury

Active retirees are moving to the West Coast, while young firsthome buyers are snapping up homes in Christchurch, property experts report.

Figures from the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) show the West Coast and Canterbury regions had a record number of house sales in April.

The West Coast saw 46 properties sold – the strongest sales volumes for April in 15 years. In Canterbury there were 1076 properties sold, the busiest April for 14 years.

West Coast real estate agent Charlie Elley said there had been 12 months of outstanding sales.

‘‘Records continue to be broken on the Coast with highest sales volumes, shortest time to sell, best achieved price, and best year-onyear values just some of the stats that are taking a hammering at the moment,’’ he said. ‘‘Interest levels continue to show no sign of dropping off, with inquiries being fielded from all over New Zealand.

‘‘Regardless of all this, the mean house price on the Coast remains at around half the national average,’’ Elley said.

Houses were getting multiple offers, previously unheard of on the Coast, he said. ‘‘The market is slowing, but that’s only because of a lack of stock.

‘‘We are getting a high level of interest from active retirees selling up in the main centres and moving to the Coast so they can have plenty of money left over to enjoy the lifestyle, because we still have among the lowest house prices in the country.’’

Canterbury had 354 properties, or 32.9 per cent, sold under the hammer last month, the highest percentage of auctions since records began.

The West Coast saw the biggest fall in a supply of houses for sale, from 96 in April last year to just 10 this April – the lowest inventory seen in the West Coast since records began. The median house price on the West Coast rose 27.9 per cent to $275,000, down 8.3 per cent from the record high $300,000 set in March. Median house prices rose 22 per cent in Canterbury to $560,000 between April 2020 to last month.

Kelvin Davidson, senior property economist at property data firm CoreLogic, said although West Coast and Canterbury house prices were rising, they were still the most affordable in the country relative to income.

The increase to the loan-tovalue ratios for investors was already having an impact, he said. Figures for April showed more first-home buyers were getting into the market, particularly in Christchurch. ‘‘We are seeing younger people moving here into their first homes because its more affordable than Auckland, Hamilton or Dunedin,’’ he said.