Yes, you can buy a house in Auckland for less than $1 million
Auckland’s $1.19 million median house price overshadows the more affordable options its market has to offer. Miriam Bell reports.
Auckland is renowned for its expensive house prices, but the region’s million-dollar-plus median price overshadows the more affordable options its market has to offer.
While the median price has fallen by about $200,000 since last November’s peak, it is still $1.19 million, according to CoreLogic.
That figure encompasses prices across Auckland’s diverse range of former council territories, and across all property types. It includes highend luxury homes, and low-end leasehold apartments.
CoreLogic head of research Nick Goodall says it means the region’s market is actually made up of multiple different markets.
This has become more pronounced as increasing densification has led to apartments and townhouses, which tend to be more affordably priced, making up a larger proportion of the housing stock, he says.
In Australia, housing market data captures the variances in the larger city markets by recording a median dwelling price, then breaking that down into a median house price and median unit price.
To better reflect Auckland’s multi-faceted market, CoreLogic has run the numbers to get a breakdown of the region’s median by property type, and by former council territory.
It shows the region’s median house price is $1.27m, but in Auckland City the median is $1.59m, on the North Shore it is $1.43m, in Waitakere (West Auckland) it is $1.09m, and in Manukau (South Auckland) it is $1.21m.
But in the townhouse and apartment sectors of the market median prices are significantly lower.
The region’s median townhouse price is $835,000. Auckland City’s median is $864,000, North Shore’s is $926,000, Waitakere’s is $787,000, and Manukau’s is $770,000.
Apartments have a regional median price of $668,000, but the Auckland City median is $659,000, North Shore’s is $752,000, Waitakere’s is $641,000, and Manukau’s is $535,000.
Goodall says looking at prices in this way presents a different view of the market, and shows there is a variety of options available.
‘‘If first-home buyers adjust their expectations away from a freestanding house on a block of land, there are other ways for them to get into the market in Auckland.
‘‘We are seeing first-home buyers take the long-term view that if they buy a more affordably priced townhouse or apartment, it gets them a home, which will build equity, and from which they can move on later.’’
There is an increasing number of options available for buyers, but it does require a change in mindset, he says.
‘‘These are median prices. Half of all sales are below the median and half are above, so there are more affordable options, and more expensive options.’’
This is particularly true of the apartment market. City Sales sales manager Scott Dunn says the spectrum ranges from leasehold units on Anzac Ave or Beach Rd in the central city which sell for under $50,000 to freehold luxury suites which sell for several million.
Extremely cheap sale prices for leasehold apartments or those in need of remedial work pull the statistics down, but apartments provide more affordable alternatives for buyers, he says.
‘‘You need to be careful to exclude the leasehold and remedials, but you can buy something quite lovely for well under $1m, and there are some fantastic entry-level options.
‘‘It is possible to get a liveable, two-bedroom apartment with parking for around CoreLogic’s median of $668,000, or you could get a freehold two-bedroom apartment without car parking from $300,000 in some places.’’
Examples of the range currently on the market include a two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment in the city centre with parking, listed for $879,000; a onebedroom ground floor apartment with a courtyard in Papatoetoe, listed for $535,000; and a large one-bedroom apartment with balconies in Browns Bay, listed for $689,000.
Attitudes to buying apartments have shifted over recent years, Dunn says. Apartments, particularly in the city centre, used to be the domain of investors, but his agency now sells to more owneroccupiers.
‘‘Younger people are happy to start off with an apartment, in contrast to their parents who were not. And lots of older people are downsizing to apartments too.’’
But buyers need to do their homework, he warns. They should check out recent sales in the building, get the minutes from the building’s latest annual general meeting, and a precontract disclosure statement, and seek independent legal advice.
Apartments used to be concentrated in the city centre, but they can now be found from South Auckland to Rodney in the north, and also out west. Townhouses have also proliferated across the region.
This has opened up the market, and means that apartments and townhouses are not just about urban living, Ray White chief operating officer Daniel Coulson says.
They provide an opportunity for people to buy in suburbs they like at a price level that is far more affordable than a house.
‘‘Conventional wisdom used to be that if you couldn’t buy a house in the area that you wanted you had to look further afield. But now you can just look to a different property type instead, and it gives you options.’’
Two types of buyers choose to buy apartments, he says. One type is first-home buyers looking for a way into the market, and the other is older people who want a low-maintenance property but want to stay in the area they live in.
‘‘They have become a lifestyle choice, too. If you want to live by the sea on the North Shore, for example, you are now more likely to be able to do so in an apartment in Takapuna or Orewa.’’
Townhouses also offer a more-affordable, lowermaintenance option for buyers, but they appeal to people who do not want to be in an apartment block and want a little outdoor space, he says.
‘‘They often suit professional couples, and also people returning from overseas who are used to more compact living, and like it.’’
Examples of what is currently on the market include a threebedroom Avondale townhouse with a double garage, listed for $682,000; a three-bedroom Glen Eden townhouse with a garage, deck and garden, listed for $799,000; and a two-bedroom Papakura townhouse with a car park and garden, listed for $679,000.
The drive towards greater densification of housing, which involves new planning rules, means apartments and townhouses will become a bigger part of the market.
Coulson says buyers are much more comfortable with this than they were even five years ago. The shift is partly driven by affordability and necessity.
‘‘But it also comes down to the quality of a lot of the newer product, where the developers have thought about space and aspect, and produced some stunning buildings.
‘‘This underpins acceptance, and motivates buyers,’’ Coulson says.
‘‘If you want to live by the sea on the North Shore you are now more likely to be able to do so in an apartment in Takapuna or Orewa.’’
Daniel Coulson
Ray White chief operating officer