- House values in Wellington’s Oriental Bay have dropped $700,000 since the market peak four years ago.
- Oriental Bay is now last among the country’s most expensive suburbs, with an average value over $2m.
- Factors include post-Covid slump, public-sector layoffs, economic downturn, seismic risks, and rising insurance premiums.
It was once New Zealand’s most expensive suburb, but Wellington’s Oriental Bay is in danger of losing multimillion-dollar status, with house values in the waterfront suburb plunging $700,000 since market peak four years ago.
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The latest OneRoof-Valocity house price figures show Oriental Bay languishing in last place in the list of the country’s most expensive suburbs. Its average property value is just over $2 million – $1.6m and 31 spots below top-ranked Waiheke Island, which has become the new magnet for real estate wealth.
Just five years ago, Oriental Bay was New Zealand’s seventh most expensive suburb, and 30 years ago, it was the most expensive, although the $870,000-plus prices the suburb boasted back then would barely cover the deposit of a top home nowadays.
Cotality property economist Kelvin Davidson said part of Oriental Bay’s significant drop could be explained by the post-Covid house price slump, which hit Wellington particularly hard.
“The wider Wellington housing market has been one of the weakest in the country. There’s a confidence factor in Wellington at the moment.”
He said the public-sector layoffs and the economic downturn had also played a part, as had seismic risks and rising insurance premiums.
Bayleys Wellington agent Ben Atwill said Oriental Bay didn’t have a high volume of sales, which he believed skewed the data.
“It’s a very tightly-held suburb. The properties – they don’t come up [for sale] that often. When you’ve got one, you’ve got one, and you hang on tight.”
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Without the comparable sales, it was difficult to work out property values, Atwill said.
When properties do come to market, they tend to perform well, he said, citing a recent $3.5m sale and a $4.5m deal he did last year.
He said that “stunning” property, which featured a 400sqm house with a lift that descended four levels and a 2012 extension designed by Athfield Architects, was described on a property value website as having a market value of $2.7m - almost $2m out.
Atwill said the fact that houses were lived in for decades in Oriental Bay showed how desirable the area was.
A luxury home on Hay Street, in Oriental Bay, Wellington, sold for $4.5m last year. Photo / Supplied
The jewel in the suburb’s crown – Oriental Parade – was proof of that. “You’re in the most west-facing location with the most manicured beach, with some of the best cafes and a promenade that’s such a key asset to the location.”
Atwill didn’t know why being the “most expensive” suburb in New Zealand would be an accolade and said the benefits of living in Oriental Bay were many, regardless of its ranking.
“Being able to step outside your front door and go for a 20-minute run with the sea lapping beside you, beautiful architecture on the other side – I don’t think the benefits or features have changed.
“Certainly, the demand hasn’t changed.”
Oriental Bay’s waterfront is still a top destination for those in the city. Photo / Mark Mitchell
It was zoned for good schools, was five minutes to the CBD and 20 minutes to an international airport, without the traffic woes of Auckland, he said.
The houses themselves were “phenomenal”, large, character-driven homesteads, Atwill said, many dating back to between the 1890s and 1920.
“You get these families that buy – their kids go through primary schooling, secondary schooling and as soon as they start finishing uni, or just before, all of a sudden they’re put back to market, and those stats are heavily skewed.”
There were also apartment buildings and plenty of unit titles and cross leases, as well as company share homes.
One of those buildings, where owners must buy a certain number of shares to occupy the apartment, was listed for sale in November for $40m.
- Click here to find more properties for sale in Oriental Bay
