KEY POINTS:
Dunedin is the first of the main centres to show a drop in residential property values.
Quotable Value's April figures showed further signs the market was easing, but Dunedin was the first area to show negative growth.
Property values in the city decreased by -0.1 per cent over the past year, with the average price $272,361.
The increase in property prices around the country continues to slow with some housing investments made two to three years ago expected to make little if any capital gain.
In the residential property market there was a 4.9 per cent growth in national property values over the past year, calculated over the three months ended April this year as against the same period last year.
That was down on the 6.5 per cent growth reported in March. The average sale price was steady at $388,465.
QV spokesperson Blue Hancock said although the change in property values over the past 12 months was still positive, most of the growth occurred in autumn last year. Over the first three months of 2008 property values were easing in most areas.
"With property listings still high, buyer demand reducing and the typical slowdown through winter, we would expect this trend to continue and our monthly statistics will likely show declining values in the coming months."
Mr Hancock said such a correction was inevitable after a sustained period of growth across the property market.
Annual growth rates continued to slow in most of the main urban centres. Auckland City's growth rate had eased the fastest, from 6.2 per cent reported last month to 3.2 per cent.
Property values in the Auckland region rose by 4.7 per cent over the past year. Glenda Whitehead of QV Valuations said at this stage average property values across the Auckland region were still more than they were this time last year.
"But for how much longer we can't say. Given what we are seeing in the market at present, we suggest growth rates will continue to pull back."
In some areas such as Waitakere City, auctions were no longer used, with vendors preferring asking prices to attract buyers. Hamilton, with 2.3 per cent growth, and Christchurch with 4.6 per cent, had both dropped back by just over 1 per cent.
Wellington's annual growth remained the highest among the main centres at 5.3 per cent despite a 2.1 per cent drop from last month. Tauranga was steady at 3.5 per cent.
