Rising New Zealand property values accelerated last month as the lack of listings in Canterbury and Auckland continue to overheat the market, prompting the Reserve Bank to impose low-equity home lending restrictions from next month.
Property values rose at an annual pace of 8.5 per cent in August, from an 8.1 per cent annual pace a month earlier, according to state-owned Quotable Value. House values rose 2.9 per cent in the three months ended August 31, slowing from the 3.1 per cent rolling three-monthly pace ending in July.
"Auckland and Canterbury are still driving the national increase in values, with the other main cities seeing limited growth,'' QV research director Jonno Ingerson said in a statement.
Auckland property values rose 3.3 per cent on a rolling three-month basis and were up 13 per cent on an annual basis, while Christchurch values were up 2.7 per cent on a three-month basis, and 11 per cent on the year.
