NZ house prices by suburb: The growing divide
Wednesday, 10 June 2026
House prices rose by more than 10% in 25 suburbs around the country over the past year, but it was a different story for many of Auckland’s suburbs, Cotality says.
The property research company has released its latest suburb price mapping figures, which revealed a growing gap between more affordable regional markets and some of the country’s larger urban centres.
On a national level the market remained subdued, with the median price for a standalone house down 0.1% to $834,199 over the three months to June, the data showed.
Within that, 56% of suburbs nationwide recorded either stable or rising standalone house prices over the quarter, while in 52% of suburbs, prices for townhouses and flats were stable or went up.
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But it was parts of the South Island that had the strongest price growth, on both a quarterly and an annual basis.
There were 15 suburbs where standalone house prices rose by at least 4% over the quarter, and only three of them were in the North Island. Most were in Southland or West Coast.
The same was true on an annual basis, with 21 of the 25 suburbs that saw standalone house prices rise by at least 10% annually in Southland and West Coast. No North Island suburbs were in the top 25.
Cotality chief property economist Kelvin Davidson said that in many of those stronger performing suburbs, there were two likely factors for the double-digit growth.
Affordability and local economic conditions would be playing an important role in supporting demand across those markets, he said.
“Many of the best performing suburbs are relatively affordable compared with larger urban centres, and their resistance to softer economic and overall market conditions could be due to first home buyer activity and smaller-scale investors.
“We also know that areas linked to communities where there’s robust farming activity and strong regional economies have also generally been holding up well.”
Orepuki in Southland and Fox Glacier in Westland had the highest standalone house price growth over the past year, up 20.9% and 20.1% to medians of $453,208 and $436,467 respectively.
But they are small and that could skew the data, Davidson said.
Some larger suburbs among the strongest annual performers were Lorneville in Invercargill, up 15.7% to a median of $646,012, Wallacetown in Southland, up 15.5% to $570,826, and Te Anau in Southland, up 14.3% to $796,693.
But while many suburbs in regional markets were performing solidly, suburbs in the country’s biggest market, Auckland, featured prominently at the opposite end of the spectrum, the data showed.
On an annual basis 10 of the 25 suburbs that recorded the biggest falls in standalone house prices were in the Auckland region.
Of those Auckland suburbs, Ti Point in Rodney had the biggest drop, with prices down 9.7% to a median of $1.15 million.
Some of the others were Wesley in Auckland City, down 7.8% to $1.07m, Wiri in Manukau, down 7.4% to $786,723, and Glen Innes in Auckland City, down 6.9% to $1.10m.
Davidson said the key restraints on prices in Auckland included a strong new supply pipeline and cautious buyer sentiment.
'Auckland experienced one of the strongest upswings during the pandemic period, which pushed prices to very elevated levels and created significant affordability challenges for many buyers.
'Prices for all property types across the city are now about 23% below their January 2022 peak of $1.36m, but they remain above their pre-pandemic levels.'
There was only one Wellington region suburb among the 25 suburbs with the biggest annual falls in standalone house prices. That was Wainuiomata in Lower Hutt, where prices were down 7.3% to $587,986.
The two biggest annual falls were in Ikamatua and Punakaiki in West Coast’s Buller. They saw standalone house prices drop by 12.5% and 11.6% to $263,882 and $503,647 respectively.
Davidson said when it came to townhouses and flats, supply dynamics were a significant factor in the performance of townhouse markets.
In suburbs with a strong pipeline of new development buyers had lots of choice and that was an ongoing restraint on prices, whereas in other areas there was less stock and price growth was stronger, he said.
“That being said, contrary to some perceptions out there, townhouses aren’t generally seeing their values underperform other property types.”
The data highlighted how varied conditions were around the country, and that variability could become even more pronounced if economic uncertainty persisted, Davidson said.
“Higher mortgage rates and a weaker economy tend to place a greater emphasis on affordability, which is one reason lower-priced markets have performed better than others.”
Elevated listings and subdued sales volumes were likely to remain key features of the market in the months ahead, with affordability remaining a key driver of demand, he added.
Strong momentum in the South - QV
Meanwhile, Quotable Value’s latest House Price Index, out on Tuesday, told a similar story.
The QV data showed the average national price increased by just 0.3% to $912,190 in the three months to the end of May.
That average was 0.2% less than the same time last year and 14.2% below the market’s previous peak in early 2022.
QV spokesperson Simon Petersen said prices largely continued to hold steady around the country, but there was stronger momentum in parts of the South Island.
“It is particularly evident in and around Invercargill and Southland in general, where relative affordability and a strong local economy are helping to underpin demand.”
Queenstown also appeared to be less affected by the constraints seen elsewhere, while Christchurch had now regained the ground it lost during the downturn, with its average price rising 1.6% over the quarter to $808,601, he said.
“Part of Christchurch’s resilience comes down to affordability. It has also benefited from a relatively balanced relationship between supply and demand, which helped it avoid some of the sharper swings seen elsewhere.”
It was a stark contrast to the two other main cities, Auckland and Wellington, where prices continued to lag, and were 22.3% and 27.6% below the previous market peak, he said.
QV’s data had Auckland’s average of $1.19m remaining unchanged over the quarter, while Wellington’s inched up 0.2% to $910,286.