House prices in South Wairarapa near national median

The main street of Masterton where the median house price in October was $410,000. Photo / Google

House sales in South Wairarapa last month produced a record median price of $592,000 - not far off the national median which crept over the $600,000 mark for the first time.

And strong demand coupled with a limited supply of new properties means the Wairarapa housing market looks set for future growth.

South Wairarapa's October median price of $592,000 was 20.8 per cent up on the previous month's $490,000, and a 17.7 per cent increase on last October's figure of $503,000, the latest Real Estate Institute of New Zealand monthly property report says
The number of South Wairarapa properties sold in October was 17, only one above September's 16 properties, and well below the 28 properties sold in October 2018.

There were 19 Carterton houses sold in October, down from 21 the month before, and 17 in October 2018.

Property Brokers Wairarapa area manager Brent Woodmass said that the trend was positive and steady.

"[For South Wairarapa] it could be a range of three or four things, it could be two or three properties sold over the million dollars mark, it could be a lack of stock at the bottom that hasn't sold so you have a high medium.

It is relative month to month. But it's always a good thing when the property figures are up. There's a lot of activity and people coming into the area seeing value in Wairarapa."

Due to lack of stock the trend was for values to go up, Woodmass said.

"There are plenty of buyers out there with less stock, and we'll continue to see the trend of figures going up until we get a plateau where people stop because it gets too dear and it'll slow down.

"But until that day comes it'll continue doing what it's doing – pushing up."

The director of Susan Stephen and Co, Susan Stephen, said that many people were buying for the future.

"They don't live here now but they plan to one day – we're getting a lot of that.

"We still do get a bit of the weekend market as well."

Across the Wellington region median prices climbed from $598,000 in October 2018 to $640,000 in October 2019, with Wellington City experiencing a record median price of $815,000, making it more expensive than parts of Auckland.

That trend has meant many younger people unable to enter the Wellington City housing market were looking further afield, REINZ Wellington region director Mark Coffey said.

"Wairarapa's an affordable place relatively speaking. South Wairarapa's also become significantly more vibrant.

"What we've seen is the places with the lowest prices have the biggest increases. A lot of people are travelling up to Lower Hutt, Upper Hutt, and Wairarapa."

Median house prices across New Zealand increased by 8.2 per cent in October to a new record high of $607,500, up from $561,500 in October 2018.