Overall, the national average annual house value decline was 12 percent. Photo: 123rf
Widespread reductions in home values have continued into the new year, with further declines anticipated.
The latest Quotable Value (QV) House Price Index showed the national average home value fell by 1.7 percent in the three months to January, to $934,761, compared to a 0.5 percent drop in the December quarter.
Overall, the national average annual decline was 12 percent.
Values in all the main centres fell, including Queenstown, which experienced its first quarterly decline since August 2020.
QV chief operating officer David Nagel said it was little wonder the residential market had seen a slow start to the year, given the extreme weather in the top half of the North Island.
However, home values had seen deeper falls in the bottom half of the North Island, with Palmerston North and Hastings posting the largest average quarterly reductions of about 3 percent.
The Wellington region also showed significant declines this quarter, with an average home value reduction of 2.8 percent - an average of more than 20 percent on a year earlier.
"Only time will tell for certain, but it certainly looks as though the market hasn't hit bottom yet," Nagel said.
"As a result, it seems many prospective buyers are being very cautious right now, waiting to see exactly how far prices will fall. Others are finding it too difficult to obtain finance, or are unwilling to make such a commitment given the very high level of economic uncertainty right now."
He said the summer would probably continue to be a relatively quiet one for the residential property market for the time being at least, given the extreme weather events and significant damage to parts of the country.