House prices remain strong in Timaru ward
AIMAN AMERUL MUNER/Stuff
The number of houses being sold in the Timaru ward of the Timaru district “are slowly increasing”, the REINZ says.
House prices in parts of the Timaru district jumped 6.74% from June to July, the latest Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) figures show.
There were 59 properties sold in the Timaru Ward of the Timaru district in July with a median price of $507,000 compared to the 43 sold in June, when the median was $475,000.
Year-on-year the July 2023 median price was 1.39% – down to $507,000 from $514,150. But taking in the past two years, the median price was up 10.22% from $460,000 in July 2021.
Julian Blanchard, the REINZ ambassador for Timaru, said with 59 sales in July 2023, the numbers “are slowly increasing and getting close to pre-Covid levels” which were 35 and 43 in July 2022 and July 2021, respectively.
“We are also seeing that the median price has not changed a lot and continues to hover around the $500,000 mark,” Blanchard said.
“This shows that our market is very stable with buyers seeing good value here locally.”
The other wards in the Timaru District – Geraldine and Pleasant Point-Temuka – both recorded median price falls.
Geraldine’s median July 2023 price was $427,500 compared to $565,000 in June and $630,00 in July 2022. At Pleasant Point-Temuka, the July 2023 median was $355,000 compared to $440,000 in June and $420,000 in July 2022.
AIMAN AMERUL MUNER/Stuff
The sold sign went up on 77 houses in the Timaru District in July 2023, the latest REINZ figures show.
Combining the three wards into a district wide total meant the Timaru District’s median price, on the back of 77 sales, was $490,000, an increase of $20,000 (up 4.3%) on June 2023, but a drop of $16,000 (-3.2%) on July 2022.
Up-to-date figures were not supplied for the Mackenzie and Waimate districts.
Across Canterbury, median prices decreased by 2.5% year-on-year to $658,000.
“Owner-occupiers were the most active buyers,” REINZ chief executive Jen Baird said.
“Local salespeople noted a decline in investors in Timaru and Christchurch, due to anticipation of the election,” Baird said.
New Zealand-wide the July 2023 median sale price decreased 4.9% year-on-year to $770,000 from $810,000.
Baird said there was significant regional variation in July’s median sale prices. Auckland’s median sale price fell 8.8% from July 2022 while other significant year-on-year falls were in Waikato (-8.9%), Bay of Plenty (-7%) and Wellington (-8.9%).
Three regions – Marlborough, Southland and Central Otago – reported year-on-year price increases of 0.3%, 1.2% and 4.6% respectively.
