New Zealand property values extended gains in December, though government valuer Quotable Value says the outlook is a mixed bag for 2012.
National property values rose 2.4 per cent at the end of 2011 from a year earlier and are 3.5 per cent below the peak in late 2007, QV said in a report. Values in Auckland were 4.3 per cent better than a year earlier, and underpinned the nationwide gains as a lack of new listings and good housing for sale stoking demand for quality properties.
"Despite national values moving upwards during the year, the property market continued to be characterised by lower-than-normal sales volumes," research director Jonno Ingerson said. "First home buyers came back into the market in 2011, encouraged by low interest rates, while investors were largely on the sidelines."
The property market spent much of last year in decline as households used record low interest rates to focus on repaying debt rather than take out a new mortgage, keeping a damp on the number of properties sold and encouraging owners to hold off selling.
Ingerson said the outlook for 2012 is mixed. Auckland will probably see values further increase amid a growing population, weak building activity and limited new listings.
