Strong house prices in Hurunui bucking the trend

House values in the Hurunui District are looking strong, bucking the nationwide trend of values falling.

Don’t be fooled, the cost to build has gone up too, but overall this is creating a pretty picture for this area of North Canterbury.

Kerry Walsh, Hurunui District Council’s Building and Property manager, said the house and land markets are moving, and fast.

“Land is being snapped up quickly, especially in subdivisions which are popping up in Amberley and Hanmer Springs.”

Since 2021, the average house build cost (without land) has increased more than $40,000, which Walsh said reflects nationwide increases in material and labour costs.

The average house size has reduced, from 195m2 in 2018 to 180m2 nowadays.

CoreLogic released data recently, identifying a 12-month increase of 7.6% in house/land package prices in Hurunui, second only to Buller and bucking the average New Zealand-wide drop in house values.

Walsh said the new houses in Hurunui are worth more to sell than the traditional older houses which used to make up most of the market.

“It also creates the bigger picture that people are willing invest here, across a wide age group too which we’ve noticed.”

Building consent applications have been on a steady rise since 2018 which saw 121 consents, rising to 196 consents last year, and already this year until the end of May, 84 consents have been processed.

“Having more than five housing companies now building in the District reflects this, compared to five years ago when there were only a couple of companies.”

Walsh identified three building spikes in Hurunui, which were 18 months after the Christchurch earthquake in 2011, after the Waiau Kaikoura earthquake in 2016, and during the COVID-19 pandemic when the borders were closed.

The number of Land Information Memorandum (LIM) reports being processed has just marked a record high. Last month (May) 60 LIM reports were processed, compared to the average monthly number processed of between 33 and 47. LIM reports are carried out on a house and property before it is sold.

“People are moving to Hurunui for the lifestyle, and the many great recreational spots it offers.”