Wairarapa house values see-saw

Property value growth in Masterton took a year-on-year fall last month, according to the latest QV tables.

Property value growth has taken a year-on-year dip in Masterton, despite rises posted in Carterton and South Wairarapa over the same period, the latest QV figures show.

QV research director Jonno Ingerson said there had been a -1.3 per cent fall in year-on-year property values in Masterton for September and a -0.9 per cent decline over the past three months. The current average value of a property in the town last month was $235,177.

He said the average value in Carterton last month was $248,913.

The district posted a 3.2 per cent rise over the past year and a -1.7 per cent fall over the past three months.

South Wairarapa last month recorded a 5 per cent rise in annual property value growth and a 2 per cent hike over the past three months, while the average current value for September was $296,962, Mr Ingerson said.

He said provincial centres throughout New Zealand were still experiencing growth "in the main, albeit generally no more than 2 to 3 per cent over the past year".

Whangerei, New Plymouth and Hastings in the North Island are all up, while Kaikoura, Westland, Timaru and Mackenzie have all seen some strong increases over the past three months. Southland, Gore and Invercargill were still struggling, he said.

The latest monthly property value index shows that nationwide residential values for September have increased 8.4 per cent over the past year, and 2.6 per cent over the past three months, and so are now 9.2 per cent above the previous market peak of late 2007.

The Auckland market had increased 13.6 per cent year on year and values were 21.3 per cent above the previous peak, he said.

"Nationwide, values continue to rise, driven primarily by Auckland and Canterbury, where high demand and short supply are pushing prices up. Most of the rest of the main cities and provincial towns are also increasing but at a much more modest rate," Mr Ingerson said.

"The LVR caps just applied by the Reserve Bank are intended to help slow down the rapid increase in values by limiting loans to people with a low deposit.

"This will take some time to fully impact the market as the main banks had a large number of pre-approved loan applications in the pipeline.

"This is likely to cause a short-term flurry in activity as people rush to secure a property before their pre-approval expires," he said.

"What remains to be seen is whether the overall activity and price levels in the market are affected, particularly in areas with more affordable properties."