Houses sell in 10 days here. This small South Island city is leaving the rest of New Zealand behind

Wednesday, 13 May 2026

There’s one New Zealand city where houses are selling more than twice as fast as the national average and prices are above their post-Covid peak.

It’s Invercargill.

While much of the country’s housing market continues to drag, the deep south city is quietly booming.

New QV figures show Invercargill’s average home value rose 3% in the three months to the end of April, to $548,747.

That’s up 9.5% compared to the same three-month period last year.

It’s slightly ahead of the wider Southland region, which is also up 9.2%.

But QV lower South Island regional manager Kylie Helman says Invercargill stands out right now.

“It’s currently the only city in New Zealand where average home values are sitting at peak levels now,” she said.

When you dive into the longer-term data, the momentum in the southern city is staggering.

Invercargill property values have climbed 15.6% in the last five years, according to Cotality data, compared to a 5.8% decline nationally.

And since March 2020, values in the city have surged 38.5%, more than double the national increase of 17.2%.

Homes selling more than twice as fast

Another indicator of how hot a property market is is how long homes take to sell.

Properties in Invercargill are being sold in just 10 days on average at the moment, compared to 23 days nationally.

“You can sell a property in Invercargill more than twice as fast as the rest of New Zealand at the moment,” Goodall said. “It really does reflect the fact supply is lower in Invercargill.”

Data supplied from Trade Me shows supply in Invercargill was down 1.4% and demand up 7.7% in April this year, compared to the same month last year.

First-home buyers drive demand

While stock is low, demand is up.

Part of the appeal is simple. Houses remain comparatively cheap in Invercargill, with the median value at $522,000, according to Cotality, while QV has the average at $548,747.

Mayor Tom Campbell moved to the city 45 years ago, and says it’s lovely to see so many young families moving in, chasing affordability and space.

“You can buy houses here with maybe five acres, or even 10 acres, for less than you can buy a sixth of an acre in Christchurch.

“Often people quite like having, you know, an acre of land, or a few acres to run a few sheep or goats.”

According to Cotality, first-home buyers made up 30% of Invercargill property sales in April – higher than the national average, and nearly double the figure compared to 20 years ago.

Investors are back, too

At the same time, smaller investors are returning, with people who hold multiple mortgages accounting for 28.7% of sales in April, again higher than the national average.

Cotality head of research Nick Goodall says stronger rental returns are attracting investors. “We’re finding that in conversations we’re having with investors, they are investing for yield purposes.”

Invercargill yields are currently around 5.7%, compared to 4.6% nationwide. A yield measures the income a property brings in, compared to its purchase price.

Stronger local economy

Farming has helped Invercargill and its wider region weather the economic slowdown better than many other local economies geared toward a white-collar workforce.

“Areas like Southland which are more closely linked to the agricultural industry, which has been one of the few positives of our economy in the last couple of years, have seen property values hold up or grow at a faster rate,” Helman said.

Latest Stats NZ figures show Southland recorded the highest GDP per person in the country, $95,061 in the year ended March 2025, ahead of Wellington and Auckland.

Helman says several major projects are also lifting confidence.

“There’s a growing sense locally that Southland is entering another period of long-term economic diversification and investment, with a number of large-scale industrial and infrastructure projects either underway or being discussed,” she says.

Mayor Tom Campbell agrees investment is helping fuel optimism.

“We've got a large new museum, which will open at the beginning of next year. We’re close to the beach, we’re investing in wonderful parks.”

Helman says while Invercargill isn’t immune to the pressure most of us are feeling, it’s certainly got the better end of the bargain right now.

“..economic uncertainty and cost-of-living pressures are still factors, but the local property market has remained resilient overall and conditions continue to feel reasonably balanced on the ground.”