Stuff Digital Edition

What the median house price gets across the ditch

Miriam Bell

New Zealand’s housing market downturn has been steep but the price correction might cause people to think twice before looking overseas for cheaper options.

While market downturns have hit other countries too, New Zealand has plummeted down the ranks in international property consultancy Knight Frank’s global house price index. Back in June 2021, the country’s escalating price growth put it at number two in the rankings but in the most recent index it was at number 52. In contrast, Australia was at number 42, Canada was at 34, the UK was at 23, and the US was at 21.

In New Zealand, prices nationwide were now down 16.2% from the late 2021 market peak, with the national median at $762,000 last month, according to the latest Real Estate Institute figures. So we took that $762,000 and looked at what it could buy you in some Australian markets. Prices across the Tasman have also declined steeply but in the wider Sydney region NZ$762,000 (A$705,757) was most likely to secure an apartment.

Searches on Realestate.com.au and Domain.com.au showed the majority of properties for sale in that price bracket were apartments, although there were units, townhouses and some houses also.

But the houses available were in the outer areas of Sydney, rather than in more central locations.

The situation was similar in Melbourne, although there were more new build house and land packages listed. Many of the houses available were in outer areas.

A single-storey, four-bedroom house in Kealba, 15km from the city centre, was representative. It had a garden and a garage, and was going for A$590,000-A$640,000.

In Brisbane, there were more houses for sale in the New Zealand median price range, including houses in areas closer to the central city and bigger houses with more features. A two-storey, threebedroom house in Bracken Ridge was an example. It was about 18km from the city centre but it was on a 601m2 section, and had a pool, a double garage and a double carport. It was listed for offers over A$650,000. None of the prices cited include stamp duty, which is charged on sales in all Australian states, and can be a significant extra cost.

Business

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2023-03-20T07:00:00.0000000Z

2023-03-20T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://fairfaxmedia.pressreader.com/article/281741273658446

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