New data shows it wasn't an Auckland suburb that saw the greatest growth in house prices over the last 12 months, but a small settlement near Mt Ruapehu.
According to figures released by CoreLogic on Thursday, Manunui in the Ruapehu district had the highest value change in house prices over the last year with a 51.8 percent jump to $295,000. Nearby Taumarunui comes in second with a 49.4 percent increase.
No suburbs in any of the main centres make the top 10 list. Instead, it's made up of areas in Ruapehu, Waikato, Gisborne, Tararua and Whanganui.
In Auckland, Otara had the greatest increase over the last 12 months - up 31.4 percent. For Hamilton, it was Enderly (up 30.1 percent), while Tauranga's Greerton jumped 23.2 percent, Wellington's Wainuiomata increased 35.3 percent, Christchurch's Aranui grew 22.1 percent and Dunedin's Bradford increased 21.3 percent.
The list of suburbs with the highest median values in New Zealand is dominated by areas in Auckland. In the top spot is Herne Bay ($3.158 million), followed by St Marys Bay ($2.787 million) and Remuera ($2.536 million).
Standouts from other main centres include Seatoun in Wellington ($1.8 million), Fendalton in Christchurch ($1.36 million) and Mount Maunganui in Tauranga ($1.2 million). Hamilton had one suburb - Harrowfield - cross the $1 million mark, while Maori Hill in Dunedin is very close at $972,500.
The lowest median value suburbs are mostly found on the West Coast. The suburb with the smallest growth was Wallacetown in Southland, with a 0.6 percent increase.
The top sale of the year so far was at 16 Audrey Rd, Takapuna, on Auckland's North Shore. That property sold for an eye-watering $13.75 million.
The data also shows it's in Hargest, Invercargill and Marybank, Nelson that homes are being sold the quickest. Houses there boast a median time on the market of just six days
CoreLogic chief property economist Kelvin Davidson said it's been a hectic first half of the year - but nothing lasts forever.
"We have always been expecting a slowdown in both sales volumes and property value growth in the second half of 2021 and into 2022, and that remains on track – especially now that fixed mortgage rates, or those on longer terms, are rising," he said.
"In other words, it looks likely to us that the market is now very close to (or at) the peak of this upswing. That said, with population growth having generally outpaced property supply increases over a period of several years, we’re anticipating a slowdown, not an outright downturn."
