The new million dollar home
More and more million-dollar houses are being snapped up in Waikato, with sale prices in Hamilton and Waipa¯ stoking the growth.
Latest figure from Real Estate Institute of NZ show 405 Waikato properties sold for at least $1 million in 2019 – an increase of 16.1 per cent on the year before.
And real estate bosses expect the upward trend to continue through 2020 thanks to the region’s strong economy, increasing land and building costs, and motivated buyers.
Hamilton’s million-dollar sales club increased by 30.1 per cent last year, with 160 homes selling for at least $1 million, up from 123 in 2018.
Harcourts Hamilton general manager Brian King said the increase in $1m sales reflect the fact the market has moved.
‘‘Properties that were $800,000 a few years back have moved through and also building costs have risen,’’ King said.
‘‘You can’t build a house for what you could two or three years ago. You don’t have to build huge these days to get a $1m property, by the time you buy a nice section, and put a nice house on it.’’
House buyer Jill bought a fourbedroom house in Hamilton’s Huntington suburb for almost $1.2m in June last year through Harcourts.
After selling a house in Auckland, and with interest rates so low, she decided to reinvest her money into property rather than leave it in the bank.
She’s renting out her Huntington house but plans to move in herself within the next five years.
The house met all her requirements and is on a private section.
‘‘While the return on a more expensive house like this isn’t as great as it would be on a medium priced house, it suited me to do it that way because, long-term, it’s going to be my house,’’ Jill said.
‘‘I wanted four bedrooms, privacy, and a nice environment. I decided through my research that I was going to have to spend $1.2m to get anything close to what I was happy with.’’
Lugtons managing director Simon Lugton said about 45 per cent of Hamilton’s $1m sales were in newer parts of the city such as Flagstaff and Rototuna with homes built in the past 15 years.
‘‘If you look back to the 1960s and 1970s, the most commonly built house had three bedrooms with a separate garage. Now, it’s a four-bedroom, two-bathroom, twoliving room house with a double garage,’’ Lugton said.
‘‘There are some smaller homes getting built as well, we’re starting to see a move towards that, but there are still a lot of substantial homes being built.’’
The region’s biggest increase in $1m sales was recorded in Waipa¯ , with 60 properties fetching seven-figures – a 76 per cent on 2018 (34 houses).
Lugton said growth in Cambridge had ‘‘exploded’’ in recent years. The town’s median sale price was in the late $600,000, higher than Hamilton’s median sale price of about $620,000.
Thames-Coromandel District registered a 17.5 per cent jump in $1m sales, with 121 residential properties sold in 2019, compared to 103 in 2018.
In contrast, the Waikato district recorded a 54 per cent drop, with 18 $1m properties changing hands, compared to 39 in 2018.
Lodge Real Estate managing director Jeremy O’Rourke said the drop in $1m sales across the Waikato district was most likely due to a lack of available stock.
‘‘One of the things we’ve noted is it’s difficult finding appropriate lifestyle properties in the Waikato district,’’ O’Rourke said.
‘‘The drop off [in $1m sales] is because supply is constrained. If you could find the appropriate stock, we have the buyers ready there to buy.’’
O’Rourke expects the increase in $1m sales in Hamilton to continue as the city attracts new companies and industries.
‘‘The executives who will be required to run those companies are requiring higher priced housing. Hamilton and the region is really well placed for continued economic growth and that’s a driver for increased sales in that part of the market.’’
Waikato’s $3m sales were up 75 per cent to seven.