What a million-dollar property looks like around the country

November 11, 2020

A million-dollar property isn’t what it used to be in the City of Sails. (Source: Other)

A million-dollar property isn't what it used to be - it's now the norm in Auckland, while other areas are also catching up.

But in New Zealand's second biggest city, $1 million still comes with plenty of bang.

Around 20 minutes north of Christchurch, there's a property with everything you could want: swimming pool, paddocks, five bedrooms, three bathrooms and 394 square metres of home - and a boat.

Its rateable value is $950,000, but real estate agent Peter McClelland thinks it'll go for up to $1.2 million.

"It's enormous when you compare with what you can get in other parts of the country," McClelland told TVNZ1's Seven Sharp.

"I suspect that a fairly ordinary house in Auckland would probably buy this... so it's not a bad substitute."

Auckland's median house price is currently just a tick under seven figures, at $955,000.

Canterbury, by comparison, is almost half that.

So if Christchurch is undervalued and Auckland is paying overs, where does that leave Wellington?

"We probably are bang smack in the middle of that," Lowe & Co's Anji Foster says.

"At the moment we're just seeing incredible growth month on month."

The median price in Wellington is $735,000 and climbing.

Foster says a million bucks isn't quite what it used to be.

"It's hard to get your head around $1 million for a two- to three-bedroom home anywhere, but that is just the reality of what it is."

Not so in Canterbury.

As always in real estate, timing is everything.

Low interest rates plus cashed up buyers means there's a demand that outstrips supply. 

"I think six months from now, it's going to see a different Canterbury," McClelland says. 

"It'll balance out to a fair degree... It's probably going to take a long time to catch up to Auckland."

SHARE ME

More Stories