Record Auckland house prices

The Auckland market was the driver behind an increase in nationwide values in the QV residential property index.

The June rise came after relative stability for several months.

The gap in values between June this year and last year closed to 0.9%, and values are now 5.2% below the market peak of late 2007, said QV.co.nz research director Jonno Ingerson.

Across the wider Auckland area values are now 1.4% above last year and only 1% below the previous market peak of late 2007.

House prices in Manukau have been stable over the past three months, while North Shore and Waitakere have increased modestly.

Central Auckland prices are the highest ever, 0.7 percent above the previous market peak.

Factors include a lack of quality properties for sale, strong demand for established character locations and good school zones, and the perception that purchasing in central Auckland is a safe investment.

Values in Hamilton and Tauranga have leveled off in recent months, with Hamilton now 3.6% down on last year and Tauranga seeing a 1.8% reduction.

Wellington is the only main centre where values have declined. Values have dropped over 1% since January, and now sit 3.3 per cent below the same time last year.

The low sales volumes and patchy activity across large parts of Christchurch for several months now means the standard index may not be comparable to the index pre earthquake, so an index for Christchurch has not been published.

In Dunedin values have been a little variable since the New Year, but have been generally flat. Values are 3.5% below last year.

While unrelated to the QV index, and a less reliable measure of value change, the average New Zealand sales price over the last three months is $412,746 up from the $404,057 reported last month.

Values in many provincial centres have increased over the last month, leading to a closing of the gap between this year and last year. Whangarei (-4.1), Gisborne (-3.1), New Plymouth (-3.3), Wanganui (-4.0), Palmerston North (-2.8) and Invercargill remain the furthest below last year. In Napier (-2.1) and Hastings (-1.4) values are still a little below last year, while in Rotorua (-0.2), Nelson (-0.2) and Queenstown Lakes (0.1) values remain similar.