Properties in Herne Bay sold for an average of $2.13 million. Photo / Doug Sherring
Million-dollar suburbs now make up more than a third of Auckland, and some areas' average house prices have more than doubled since 2007.
The latest QV figures on the country's average house prices in October also revealed just one place in New Zealand where it's possible to snap up a home for less than six figures- Taumarunui.
Meanwhile, properties in Herne Bay sold for an average of $2.13 million and St Marys Bay and Remuera look to soon crack the $2 million benchmark, reaching average house prices of $1.94 million and $1.79 million respectively.
CoreLogic compiled the quarterly E-Valuer figures. Senior research analyst Nick Goodall said the fact Auckland now had 59 million-dollar suburbs - 37.5 per cent of the city's 157 areas that have more than 500 homes - was "not at all surprising".
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"We are now seeing Auckland recognised as a truly international city and therefore compared with the likes of Sydney and Melbourne rather than Hamilton and Dunedin for local and foreign buyers."
Auckland's $2 million suburbs were a "natural byproduct" of rapidly increasing house values.
"If we compare this to Sydney, which we are doing more frequently these days, Auckland is still some way off, as Sydney has at least 20 suburbs with a value of A$2 million ($2.17 million)."
Since the last peak in 2007, house prices in four suburbs, Kingsland, Wai O Taiki Bay, Sunnynook and Glen Innes, have increased by at least 100 per cent.
But although Mr Goodall said he believed the average house price in Auckland would hit $1 million next year, he could foresee a halt in the boom.
"We've already witnessed a reduction in market activity throughout the usually strong spring period in Auckland. This typically translates to a reduction in value growth and we are now beginning to see a very real slowing of value change among our value measures."
ASB chief economist Nick Tuffley said changes to the loan-to-value ratios (LVR) and the requirement that buyers have an IRD number had helped slow ballooning values. However, the measures weren't enough to stop house values rising more quickly than the inflation rate. Mr Tuffley said it "wouldn't take much" for the average house price in Auckland to crack $1 million.
"Unless for some reason we enter some kind of deflationary environment, you are generally going to see house prices trend up over time.
"But some suburbs will take decades to reach that million-dollar mark.
"Some of the more fringe suburbs are like satellite cities where you don't have nearly the same land price pressure. Those suburbs have significantly lower prices at the moment."
For the most part, the rapidly increasing averages were limited to "old Auckland", Manukau, the North Shore and West Auckland, where most pressure for land is.
QV spokeswoman Andrea Rush said New Zealand was experiencing record levels of immigration and because a high percentage of migrants settled in Auckland, there was a shortage of homes, driving up demand.
"More recently we have started to see a halo effect as people either move or invest in upper North Island centres closer to Auckland, and this is leading to value growth in areas in relatively close proximity to Auckland."
But there is good news for those looking to buy outside of the City of Sails: in some centres prices declined - Kawerau fell 31.9 per cent.
The cheapest five areas in the country were all in the central North Island:
• Taumarunui ($92,500);
• Kawerau ($101,500);
• Fordlands ($112,350);
• Castlecliff ($114,000);
• Tokoroa ($123,500).
The South Island area with the lowest average house price was Strathern, Christchurch, at $152,400.
Mrs Rush said the decline in some areas could be due to the district suffering job losses in various sectors.
"Kawerau was popular with investors during the boom of 2003 to 2007, which drove values up there, but since the GFC [global financial crisis] values there have never recovered to levels seen then," she said.
However, first-home buyers hoping to jump on the property ladder in Auckland would need to expect to look at more affordable suburbs further out from the city centre or to the apartment market in the central city to find properties they could afford.
Many first-home buyers had been priced out of the Auckland market as not only had properties risen, but since October 1, 2013, they had needed a 20 per cent deposit to gain finance, she said.
As new developments pop up among older homes in Wai-o-Taiki Bay, residents are turning to barbecues to try to retain their sense of community.
Average house prices in the inner-East Auckland suburb have shot up more than 100 per cent since the last peak in 2007.
This has made the area very attractive for developers, along with its view of the Tamaki River and 20-minute commute to the CBD.
" We've got the best of a number of worlds here ... and then we're just a short drive over to Auckland central."
Average values in four suburbs have increased more than 100 per cent since 2007: Kingsland rose 103.3 per cent, Wai-o-Taiki 101 per cent, Sunnynook 100.6 per cent and Glen Innes 100.4 per cent.
Paul Engles has lived in Wai-o-Taiki Bay for 18 years and before that his parents had been there about 20 years. He told the Herald his suburb has changed substantially since he bought his house, especially in the past eight years. A number of state houses have been torn down and replaced by compact complexes.
Mr Engles was not surprised about the rate at which house prices had increased in the area. "We've got the best of a number of worlds here. It overlooks the water, it has a nature reserve with native birds, like fantails, and then we're just a short drive over to Auckland central."
After just one week of planning, Mr Engles and his team of volunteers held a barbecue in the park. About 60 to 80 people came along.
"It was great, everyone chatted and enjoyed a free lunch together and now we've got about 100 people signed up to help with community events and Neighbourhood Watch. We want to build relationships and have people talking to each other."
After a cheap way to jump on the property ladder? This three-bedroom unit in Kawerau is listed for $47,000. The only catch is it's a 3-hour commute to Auckland.
Although the general trend for the country's house prices is up, in the central North Island it's still possible to snatch a bargain.
Taumarunui, which has an average house price of $92,500, was the cheapest area and had the only average house price in New Zealand under six figures. Kawerau came second with an average of $101,500, followed by Fordlands on $112,350, Castlecliff at $114,000 and Tokoroa with $123,500.
Since the last peak in 2007, Kawerau has experienced the biggest average decrease - a drop of 31.9 per cent from an average value of $148,150 to $100,950 in September this year.
However, Harcourts real estate agent Lewis Ramsay, who is selling the $47,000 Onslow St property, said the figures did not reflect the current Kawerau market. In the past six months, the local house market had risen as people from bigger, more expensive cities looked for something more affordable, he said.
"The town is filling up with more retired folk than ever.
"People are moving from Auckland, Tauranga and Rotorua and folks from those places are moving to Whakatane and Kawerau."
Mr Ramsay said it wasn't a bad idea for first-home buyers to buy a cheap rental so they could get on the property ladder.
The three-bedroom, one-bath unit was an ideal rental property because it was just 50m from the main shopping centre, had a private and fenced front lawn, room for parking and a lot of potential to add value. He believed it could fetch $165 a week if it had a paint-job.
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