Selwyn soars as property prices rise 33 per cent in a year

Friday, 5 November 2021

A vacant lot at Falcon’s Landing in Rolleston – Selwyn continues to experience huge growth in property prices.

Demand from all over New Zealand is continuing to make Selwyn property the most expensive district in Canterbury, with land in hot demand in smaller satellite towns.

With many properties in Rolleston and Lincoln now hitting the $1 million mark, first-home buyers have been forced to look further afield, pushing development land values up in Leeston, Southbridge, Dunsandel and Darfield.

The latest Real Estate Institute (REINZ) monthly report, for September, shows Selwyn district has the highest median property price at $775,000, well ahead of Christchurch and Waimakariri district medians of $670,000.

Prices have increased in Selwyn by 33.62 per cent in just 12 months, and real estate agents report being inundated with interest from all around the country.

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Kelvin Davidson thinks property prices will lose momentum next year.

Selwyn also recorded the highest population growth of any district in New Zealand between June 2020 and 2021, with a 77.4 per cent net internal migration gain.

Harcourts Rolleston branch manager Richard Tait said the current market was hard on first-home buyers who were now looking at Leeston, Dunsandel and Darfield.

“We’ve got a lot of people that have rearranged their finances and can get to $700,000, but we are seeing most houses sell beyond that now.”

Tait said there were a lot of titles due to be released, but until they were available he expected the heat to stay in the market, with potential buyers from all over the North Island wanting to buy in the area to have a country lifestyle.

“People are starting to realise location is important, and if they can get close to the new city they will pay good money for it.”

In June there was an online promotion to reserve one of 116 sections in Rolleston with a $1000 payment for land that had not yet been approved for housing development.

Meanwhile, Harcourts Real Estate agent Nick Jiang is in the final stages of selling a 22.9 hectare block of redevelopment land behind Dunsandel school.

Jiang said if Selwyn District Council grants consent, 263 sections at a cost of $70m would be developed in the small township.

Selwyn mayor Sam Broughton feels for first-home buyers in the area.

He said Aucklanders had been asking him to reserve a section when it was subdivided as they didn’t think a 30 to 40 minute commute to Christchurch was significant when compared to what they were used to.

Jiang expected the sections to sell for around $300,000 to $400,000, and said Auckland buyers were increasingly looking for a slice of country lifestyle near Rolleston or Christchurch.

However, prices were still catching up after Christchurch house prices had previously been static for a long time, he said.

Ray White real estate agent Ramee Kaur has had many first-home buyers inquire about purchasing sections in Leeston and Southbridge.

A 700 square metre section could fetch between $300,000 and $400,000, offering better affordability to those who were yet to get on to the housing market.

The rural setting of the Selwyn towns was a drawcard, according to Kaur, who had received interest from people in Queenstown, Dunedin, Christchurch, Nelson, Wellington and Auckland.

CoreLogic chief property economist Kelvin Davidson said tight listings and low mortgage rates had attributed to Selwyn’s strong prices.

However, Selwyn has also had affordability on its side and a new housing stock, making it attractive to buyers, he said.

A $21.5m indoor sports centre, built by Selwyn District Council, opened in Rolleston, on May 2. (First published April 2021)

“Until recently, land supply hasn’t been an issue, but there’s fast becoming a shortage.”

Davidson expected property prices in Selwyn would lose momentum next year, along with the rest of the country, as lending rules bite and mortgage rates rise.

However, there was still scope for Selwyn to outperform other parts of the country, given that prices were still cheaper.

Davidson said they had seen second-home buyers who had previously lived in Christchurch or further afield looking to get their next place in Selwyn, which was often a new-build and with an easy commute to the city.

“That leaves behind those starter homes in Christchurch, which first-home buyers are purchasing.”

Selwyn mayor Sam Broughton attributed the growth to land availability and the affordability of houses.

Broughton said the district was also reaping the benefits of good forward planning ahead of the infrastructure required to bring new developments.

“I would like to think it would stabilise because it’s really hard for first-home buyers to get into the market.”