To be really clear, I am not saying to “go out and invest in Christchurch or Invercargill”.
I’m sharing this because some people think that the property market will never recover.
And here we’ve got some markets recovering, even though the national average is not moving yet.
Why are house prices going up here (and not everywhere else)?
It’s tempting to say that house prices are going up in these areas because they are more affordable.
But then Queenstown has also fully recovered – and it never really went through a downturn at all.
And that’s the most expensive place to buy a house in the country.
For Invercargill and Southland, dairy prices are likely playing a role. Farmers are getting strong payouts right now. That brings more money into the local economy.
For Christchurch and Ashburton, my numbers say they were undervalued … so they had room for catch-up growth.
For Queenstown … well, it’s Queenstown.
But house prices aren’t going up everywhere
I don’t tell you this to say that house prices are going up everywhere. They’re not.
Lower Hutt is a different story. House prices there have fallen 32.3% since the peak and have barely lifted. The technical bottom was only two months ago, and prices still appear to be falling.
That’s good for some people … and bad for others.
