Just 7 percent of suburbs have recorded house price growth of 1 percent or more in the last three months, new analysis reveals.
CoreLogic has found 776 or 948 tracked suburbs across the country experienced a drop in median house values between September and December.
Of the suburbs that recorded growth, just 66 suburbs, or about 7 percent, saw prices rise by 1 percent or more over the period. Most are in rural and affordable southern districts, with 38 of the 66 having a median value of $700,000 or less.
The suburb with the highest percentage growth rate was Kawakawa in the Far North, which saw its median price up 6.5 percent to $469,550.
The lifestyle suburbs of Arrowtown and Lower Shotover, both in the Queenstown-Lakes District had the highest dollar increases over the quarter, up $102,750 (4.9 percent) and $74,500 (4.8 percent) on average respectively.
"These figures are the culmination of the lagged impact of rate rises, record inflation and other economic influences having an impact on the market," said CoreLogic NZ's chief property economy Kelvin Davidson.
"We knew it was coming and it's been interesting to see it play out, with downward momentum widespread, but almost universal in our city centres with few areas able to escape the weakness."
Looking forward, Davidson said there are clear challenges ahead with the predicted recession in 2023, inflation not expected to ease until the second half of next year, and both unemployment and the official cash rate (OCR) rising.
"It's a tricky combination for the property market and home owners alike," he said.
"However, if large-scale job losses can be avoided, further falls in property values may be contained and possibly plateau in the second half of 2023. But pessimism would take over if employment did start to fall more sharply."
Nationally, 56 suburbs recorded a fall in their median value of 5 percent or more. The two biggest drops were in Korokoro in Lower Hutt City and Mangakino in the Taupō district. They were down 10.2 percent and 10.7 percent respectively.
Of 201 tracked suburbs in Auckland, 180 or 90 percent have seen their median property value drop over the past quarter. Seventy-three have seen a fall of at least 2 percent, while just eight saw a rise of 1 percent or more.
Auckland's Herne Bay continues to be the region's most expensive suburb with a median value of $3,666,350. It bucked the national trend by seeing a slight increase in value of 0.5 percent over the three months.
Others to see increases include Devonport (up 2.1 percent), East Tamaki (up 1.6 percent) and Campbells Bay (up 1.5 percent).
Every Hamilton suburb saw prices fall since September, with 13 of 34 experiencing a drop of at least 2 percent. In Tauranga, three suburbs (Matua, Judea and Bellevue) saw increases while the rest dropped.
In Wellington, only Aotea, Waitangirua and Cannons Creek (all in Porirua) avoided declines over the quarter. The other 91 suburbs all saw falls in their median value by at least 1.5 percent.
Christchurch had about a quarter of its suburbs buck the trend. These include Aranui (up 4.2 percent), Kennedys Bush (up 3 percent), Burnside (up 0.7 percent) and Fendalton (up 0.6 percent). The worst falls in the area were the 3.2 percent drops in Hillmorton and Russley.
In Dunedin, 16 of 62 suburbs avoid a fall in their median value. These included Shiel Hill (up 1.7 percent), Waverley (up 1.6 percent), Vauxhall (up 1.5 percent), and St Clair (up 1.2 percent)
Full data can be found on CoreLogic's Mapping the Market website.
