Wellington leads price gains with 9% jump
Wellington’s property rebound is leading New Zealand, according the Real Estate Institute’s latest figures.
While nine of 16 regions tracked by REINZ had year-on-year price increases, Wellington region experienced the highest jump, up by 9.3% compared with March 2023.
The region’s median price was $820,000, with many more properties selling than the previous year. That was higher than the national median sale price of $800,000, up 2.7%.
According to REINZ, Wellington’s sales were up 17% year-on-year from 609 sales in March 2024, compared to 714 sales in March 2024. Sales were at their highest since November 2021.
This was on the back of greater choice for buyers, with an increase in listings of 32% from the same time last year.
REINZ chief executive Jen Baird said these were encouraging signs for the Wellington property market.
“The market is clearly more active compared to a year ago, with high listing numbers, increased stock levels, higher sales counts, and higher median sale prices.”
Seven of eight districts within the Wellington region had positive year-on-year median price movements with Wellington City leading the way with a 12% increase, followed by Carterton at 10.3%.
The Real Estate Institute’s figures were the most positive data since the property market turned in the latter part of last year, but due to calculating methodology, their estimates differed from other organisations’ latest numbers.
For example, CoreLogic New Zealand reported more modest gains last month in its March House Price Index update with 2.2% year-on-year annual growth for the greater Wellington region.
CoreLogic’s median price was $923,000, significantly higher than REINZ’s $820,000 reported this week.
Quotable Value also showed more modest gains in its data released last month with 2.4% year-on-year growth.