Auckland’s top places to buy in

Buying into areas targeted as public transport hubs of the future is the smart move to benefit from Auckland’s booming housing values, experts say.

The average Auckland home value has soared above $1 million for the first time, after the release of new valuations by Auckland Council on November 16.

The council has confirmed a 46 per cent increase in its valuations for residential property across Auckland as a whole.

While there’s broad agreement the Auckland housing market has cooled over the last few months, values will continue to rise over the long term, real estate experts say.

Auckland Property Investors’ Association president Andrew Bruce said he personally looked at where transport infrastructure was going in.

The region was ‘‘a nightmare to get around’’ so anything that significantly reduced a commute would help prices.

The City Rail Link was likely to heavily reduce train times into the city, he said.

‘‘That’s the sort of thing I’d be looking at, but it’s not going to be an immediate buy today, price rockets away tomorrow.’’

Better roads and public transport also opened up some suburbs to be more desirable.

Barfoot and Thompson director Peter Thompson said the Waterview Tunnel had made a ‘‘huge difference’’ to property prices in places like Blockhouse Bay and New Windsor.

But buyers needed to be aware planned projects might not happen. The East West Link had been mooted for a long time before the new Government recently scrapped it, he said.

Harcourts chief executive Chris Kennedy said most places would increase in value over the long term.

‘‘On the other hand if you are looking for a faster turnaround with good growth, you will be better off buying in the areas of Auckland that are higher in value,’’ he said.

‘‘Those areas will continue to grow. We are talking about areas such as Remuera, North Shore, Mt Eden.’’

Homes with good decile schools, shops and services with good road access will continue to grow in value, he said.

Apartments could also be a good option if they were well clad.

Andrew Bruce says if he bought an Auckland house today he would still be ‘‘reasonably confident’’ it will have gone up in value come 10 years’ time.