The suburbs with values below $300k

Only eight suburbs nationwide have a median value of less than $300,000, while there are only 108 with a median below $500,000, new CoreLogic mapping analysis shows.

Westport, Wairoa, Reefton, Patea, Blaketown, Cobden, Mataura and Runanga had median values of below $300,000 at the end of last year.

But that equated to about 1 per cent of suburbs, down from 18 per cent five years ago. Even in December 2020, there were 22 suburbs with a median under $300,000.

The decline in the number of suburbs with medians below $500,000 was just as stark. Five years ago, 53 per cent were in this category.

By the end of 2020, 226 – or 23 per cent – of suburbs fitted the bill. That had more than halved to 11 per cent last year.

At the same time, the analysis showed all 966 suburbs covered had an increase in their median value in 2021.

Of those, values rose by 20 per cent or more in 698 and by 40 per cent or more in seven, while 800 recorded value increases of over $100,000.

Four suburbs had increases of over $550,000. They were Herne Bay in Auckland and Arrowtown, Jacks Point and Lake Hayes in Queenstown.

The smallest dollar gain was in Runanga, in Grey District, where the median value was up $29,500.

CoreLogic chief property economist Kelvin Davidson said the broad-based upturn reflected common drivers, such as low mortgage rates and a historically tight supply of listings throughout the country.

But the ‘‘hottest’’ markets lately had been around the central and lower North Island, and the highest increases in the analysis were in the Tararua, Whangarei, Waikato, and Napier regions, he said.

‘‘Part of that reflects the lower starting price points of these areas and therefore better affordability.’’

An exception was Rolleston in Canterbury’s Selwyn district, where the median value was up 41.7 per cent to $834,200. Davidson said this was a small surprise because there had been so much construction there recently.

‘‘While it’s had a flatter performance in the past, at the moment people are recognising better affordability and looking to buy, and that demand has begun to flow through to prices.’’

By the end of December, there were 31 suburbs with median values of $2m or more. Of those, 28 were in Auckland, one was in Wellington and two in Queenstown.

Herne Bay retained its spot as the country’s most expensive suburb with a median value of $3.6m.

Christchurch had 14 suburbs with medians of above $1m, but Fendalton remained its most expensive suburb with a median of $1.56m.