Cambridge Leading the Race

Some Waikato properties have surpassed their pre-crash prices

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Cambridge is leading the race with property values as parts of the Waikato scream past their 2007 peaks, following a nationwide trend.

State-owned valuer, Quotable Value (QV), reported that Waipa’s average house value of $356,895 is 8.4 per cent higher than its previous peak eight years ago.

QV homevalue Hamilton registered valuer, Chris Price said: “Values in the Waipa District have continued to see significant growth driven mostly by demand for property in Cambridge which has seen increased values over the past 12 months.”

Property values in Waipa have increased by 1 per cent over the past three months which gives a 5.6 per cent increase year-on-year.

Cambridge sales manager for Lugton’s, Peter Hulsdouw, said he has seen Cambridge prices pushed up by demand outstripping supply.

“We simply don’t have enough properties to meet the demand that is out there. It’s most definitely a seller’s market at the moment in the residential side,” said Hulsdouw.

He is seeing the increase in demand driven from Aucklanders who either want to get into the housing market or are cashing in on their family homes, athletes who want to take advantage of Cambridge’s sports facilities and investors re-entering the market who are competing with first-home buyers.

“Other people from the Waikato are also buying here because it’s still got that nice, country feel about it.”

The restricted supply is worsened by the time it takes to build a new property and people wanting to hold onto their homes – at least for now.

“Traditionally people list their houses in spring and there’s a bit of reluctance to put their house on the market, and we don’t know if they’re waiting for spring or if they’re just sitting tight.”

And more houses are getting sold at auction according to Hulsdouw, and the ones that aren’t still get multiple offers.

The Waikato is attempting to increase supply to meet the demand, and in Waipa specifically, the district council issued 131 new residential building consents in the first four months of 2015. That’s 20 in January, 37 in February, 38 in March and 36 in April.

Those figures show Waipa is continuing to build a new house for every day of the week, with an average of more than 32 houses per month.

How does it compare?

Hamilton’s house values have been increasing for some time and QV’s website shows they currently sit 4.8 per cent higher than their previous peak eight years ago.

Over the past three months in Hamilton, the city’s North East has risen the most, by 2.3 per cent, closely followed by Hamilton Central and the North West at 2.2 per cent. Although the South Western values have also increased (1.5 per cent), Hamilton’s South East decreased, but only slightly, by 0.2 per cent.

Waipa and Hamilton City are the only two areas in the Waikato region that have surpassed their 2007 house values but Tauranga City is only 0.2 per cent away from the mark – rising by 4.1 per cent over the past three months and increasing values by 6.7 per cent, year-on-year.

At the other end of the scale, South Waikato still has a long way to go, sitting at 20.7 per cent lower than before the downturn in 2008.

The Western Bay of Plenty has seen a small decrease of 0.5 per cent over the last three months, but are now 5.7 per cent away from their 2007 peak values.

Matamata-Piako District also saw a slight drop in property values, decreasing by 0.8 percent in the last quarter of the year but are creeping closer to their market peak, currently sitting 2.6 per cent below it.

– Stuff