Horowhenua house prices skyrocket
House prices in Horowhenua have jumped more than 60 per cent in the past three years and local buyers are losing out, according to a real estate agent.
Data from the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand shows the median sale price for the district in 2016 was $195,500. As of June, it was $327,500 – a 67.5 per cent increase.
From June 2018 to June 2019, the average house price in the district increased by close to 20 per cent.
Harcourts Levin sales manager Clive Williams said the increase was mainly a result of out-of-town buyers being attracted to the region by the Ka¯piti expressway, which was completed in 2017. The expressway can take between 15 to 20 minutes off the drive from Levin to Wellington.
Williams said people buying homes in Horowhenua were predominantly retirees moving up from Wellington until a few years ago, but now families and first-home buyers from down the cost were being drawn to Levin, to the detriment of local buyers. ‘‘Nine times out of 10 the out-oftown buyer will get it ... Local buyers are missing out more often.’’
Those buyers were generally coming from areas such as Ka¯ piti, according to Williams. He said people from outside Horowhenua had ‘‘more dollars to spend this way’’ than locals, because they were often higher income earners and were able to sell their properties for more.
‘‘They have the buying power in a multiple-offer situation.’’
Other reasons for the dramatic increase were a shortage of listings in Horowhenua and property investors showing a greater interest in the region.
Williams thought the yet-to-be constructed O¯ taki to north of Levin expressway was making the area more attractive for forward-thinking buyers, even though the project had no start date.
Levin’s rental market was also facing a sharp increase. Williams said in five years, the average rental prices for a three-bedroom house had shot up from about $230 a week to more than $350.