NZ’s hottest suburb: Where homes are selling twice as fast as many other places

Friday, 20 June 2025

Homes are selling in Fendalton, Christchurch, twice as fast as the national average, according to new Trade Me data.

The heritage village is the ‘Remuera of the south’, the ‘Ballantynes of Christchurch’, making it ‘market resistant’, agents say.

As Aucklanders and expats vie with locals to get a foot in Fendalton, it’s tipped as the suburb to break records with Christchurch’s first $10m sale.

Fendalton in Christchurch is the hottest suburb in the property market nationwide, with high demand, according to Trade Me data out this week.

Boosted by interest from Aucklanders and expats, homes in the long-established suburb were selling in half the time of the national average.

Residential property was taking just 34 days to sell in Fendalton, while on average properties nationally were taking an average of around 70 days to sell, representing a cool market overall, the Trade Me data suggested.

Christchurch mum Jan Kim likes living in Fendalton so much when her kids got older and she decided to open a café, she couldn’t think of any where better than two minutes from her home.

“It’s a very safe community, and great for families. It’s got that village feel, but you’re so close to everything,” Kim said.

“My customers are so lovely, locals and we get lots of people going to and from the airport nearby.”

Fendalton is a sought-after location, convenient to everything Christchurch has to offer, says Trade Me Property’s Gavin Lloyd.

'A wonderful spot with established properties, beautiful gardens and proximity to some of the city’s best schools.”

Home values there on average have increased by 36.2% in the last five years, according to figures supplied to Stuff by Cotality.

The median house value in the suburb as at the end of May was $1.222m, -4.4% off its peak price in January 2022, of $1.278m.

That’s less than Christchurch’s difference from peak (-6%) and the country as a whole with is still -16.3% less than peak price, according to Cotality’s June housing report.

Cotality chief property economist Kelvin Davidson says while the suburb is faring better than many, it’s cautious optimism.

“It’s all relative; Fendalton isn’t booming, just proving a bit more resilient.”

A real estate agent for Bayleys, Adam Heazlewood, said, “You could say that Fendalton is market resistant.”

“Its long time status as an established, upmarket suburb is not threatened - it’s the Ballantynes suburb. That, and its proximity to top schools, makes it highly desirable.

“Lately we’ve seen people returning from the UK and Australia putting Fendalton at the top of their wish list,” Heazlewood said.

Fendalton was known for large, historic homesteads originally built for “gentlemen” and wealthy merchants, and now alongside modern, architecturally designed properties on large pieces of land, says Rosa Carter, managing directer of Sotheby’s International Realty, Canterbury.

“It’s the Remuera of Christchurch, of the south,” Carter said.

“People are drawn to its history and prestige. It’s very leafy, an established village with its own shops, but only 15 to 20 minutes walk to the CBD.

“It’s near Hagley Park. A big draw for families is it’s close to good schools including private and boarding.”

When Fendalton properties come on the market there’s strong interest from families of all ages, expats returning to New Zealand, and Aucklanders moving south to get more “bang for buck”, she says.

A flurry of interest is expected in Millstream house, an icon of Fendalton, which just came to market for the first time in 20 years, a heritage home built for an English lady in the 1920s - and since restored.

More Aucklanders are enquiring about the area, Carter said.

“They’re in three categories - retired business people moving for the lifestyle, corporate relocations, as there are many head offices in Christchurch, and families attracted to good schools.”

Homes in Fendalton could “easily” break the record for the highest in the city, currently $9m.

“Post earthquake, there are a number of homes in Fendalton on big parcels of land that have been rebuilt, so they're modern and brand new, but they've never come on the market yet,” she said.

“When that sales cycle starts, we’ll absolutely see new records set. If one of them came to the market today, it could easily fetch $10m.”