GROWTH MARKET
Lower prices and good value growth make apartments the star property to buy, writes CATHERINE MASTERS
New figures released to OneRoof show a strong, affordable apartments market up and down the country.
With some exceptions in million dollar suburbs like Remuera, in Auckland, median apartment prices in the 12 months to September ranged between $437,500 in Canterbury to $639,000 in the Bay of Plenty, according to the REINZ data.
Bindi Norwell, REINZ chief executive says: “Over the past few years New Zealanders have been embracing apartment living more and more as they realise in some cases that the benefits of not having a backyard can outweigh the weekends spent mowing lawns, weeding or undertaking maintenance of a property. This is particularly now that we’re seeing more design led apartments that are tailored for different market segments.”
The Auckland region’s median price was $585,000. “As a general rule, apartments tend to be cheaper than stand-alone houses, which provides for more affordable options for first time buyers. For example, in Auckland for the 12 months ending September 2019 the median price of apartments was $585,000 versus $885,000 for a stand-alone property,” says Norwell.
Pete Evans, from Colliers International, says the data clearly shows the lower end of the market is doing the best. “What stands out is the apartments have performed well, very well, because they’re more affordable - that’s the bottom line. That’s what has performed best over the last 12 months and probably will for the next 12 months at least.”
It was only to be expected that suburbs like Remuera saw a much higher median price of around $1.4m, but compared to the millions spent on standalone housing in Remuera the apartment price might reflect people wanting to stay in the area but opting for a more affordable product, says Evans.
He says that a lot of the buyers in the median apartments price range would be first home buyers who are the most active part of the market. “Can that product get any cheaper? To a degree not if there’s a demand for it.”
Reflected in the REINZ figures will be apartments bought off the plans from a few years ago which are now settling, but yet to be reflected are developments such as Ockham’s new 10-storey apartment building The Greenhouse in Grey Lynn/ Ponsonby where one bed apartment are asking $845,000 and a two bed, two bathroom one looking for $1.975m.
Other city fringe areas, such as Mt Wellington, are seeing growth because they are affordable with good amenities. REINZ figures showed Takapuna and Mt Wellington had the biggest median price lift with 33.6 percent and 331.5 percent growth respectively.
Stonefields, a new neighbourhood in Mt Wellington, for example, is outperforming its neighbours like St Johns, says Evans.
“Its growth was 460 per cent over 10 years, compared 380 per cent for adjoining suburbs.”