- Christchurch's housing market remains stable, with steady open homes and a buyer-favourable environment.
- Harcourts Gold agent Cameron Bailey notes plenty of stock, creating a fairer market and preventing overpayment.
- Bayleys Christchurch general manager Rachel Dovey highlights affordability and new builds as key drivers.
Christchurch’s housing market is steady as she goes, seemingly withstanding the vagaries of other markets around the country.
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Cameron Bailey from Harcourts Gold, the top listing agent on OneRoof last year, said open homes this month were steady and that buyers were out there, but also noted that stock levels were higher than usual for this time of year.
People coming back from holiday were thinking about getting their home on the market and asking for appraisals so more stock would be coming.
Bailey said plenty of stock made for a fairer market: “It just keeps everybody honest. It keeps sellers honest. You know, they only get what it's worth, and it keeps buyers honest," he said.
“They (buyers) don't have to overpay because they can actually measure where the value sits compared to two or three other properties that are directly comparable to it.”
Harcourts Gold agent Cameron Bailey says power in the Christchurch market still lies with buyers. Photo / George Heard
OneRoof figures show there are nearly 1000 more homes currently for sale in Canterbury than a year ago.
The market was still favouring buyers, Bailey said, and because no impact had been seen on prices from falling interest rates, some owners and sellers were in a hard place.
“I had somebody I was talking to the other day and they'd come off 2.99% and they fixed back on at 5.5%, so it's still twice what it was," he told OneRoof.
“Another person I talked to was wanting to sell a unit they'd bought a couple of years ago. They won't get back what they paid for it and they can no longer afford to pay the mortgage because it's so much to get topped up now.
“They're in a hard position. There's a lot of those sort of people - people that bought those small, cheap units a few years ago are really struggling. They bought at the height of the market and bought lots of those two-bedroom units with no garages.”
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Christchurch has property across a range of price bands, and Bailey has a property on the market right at the top end – a five-bedroom, four-bathroom house at 29 Garden Road, in Merivale. It is priced at $6.2m, but Bailey said it was a standout property.
“It's an amazing property. It's like a resort inside. It’s on one of the best streets in town. It's just an amazing property, one of Christchurch's best.”
Known as Te Maru/The Shelter, the sculptured stone house, which is set on 1227sqm of landscaped grounds and has a separate guest house, was inspired by Cape Dutch architecture and is architecturally designed.
Bailey said the home was getting plenty of interest, as was another substantial home, a post-earthquake build at 6 Gazelle Lane, in Redcliffs, which is on for $2.499m.
Known as Te Maru/The Shelter, 29 Garden Road, in Merivale, Christchurch, is looking for a buyer with $6.2m to spend. Photo / Supplied
Priced at $2.499m is a four-bedroom luxury build at 6 Gazelle Lane, in Redcliffs, Christchurch. Photo / Supplied
The four-bedroom, two-bathroom home has views over McCormack's Bay and north to Kaikoura.
Bayleys Christchurch general manager Rachel Dovey also noted the stability in the city's housing market, especially compared to the likes of Auckland and Wellington.
She put that down to a raft of reasons, including a strong end of year in rural sales, which she said flowed through economically to the main centres.
The Christchurch stadium build was another factor, providing stable employment, as was the affordability factor – Christchurch is still much cheaper to buy in than Auckland and Wellington.
Movement from the larger centres to Christchurch for affordability fueled the market to some extent, although Dovey said people were moving for other reasons, such as wanting to be nearer parents and family.
“We saw a lot more out of Covid because it's so darn expensive – life - with all the inflation and stuff we talk about all the time.”
A three-bedroom home on Worsleys Road, in Westmorland, Christchurch, fetched $1.922m at the end of last year. Photo / Supplied
Another Christchurch drawcard was the high number of new builds on offer. “They are built well/insulated/future-proofed. They're warm. And new means you're not renovating all the time, you've got a warm house when you're at home, all those kinds of things.”
Dovey said the market was most active in the $800,000 to early $1m range, especially in central Christchurch.
In suburbs like Saint Albans a lot of the older homes had been removed and there was a boom in townhouse building by a range of companies. “There seems to be quite a surge of that inner-city-style living. In the last year, quite a lot has come onto the market.”
People liked the vibe of inner-city living, and she said Christchurch was appealing because it was an easy city to bike around and had plenty of outdoor activities.
Also selling were properties in the $2 million-plus range, including a three-bedroom, two-bathroom home on Worsleys Road, in Westmorland, which was sold by Adam Heazlewood and Jessica Phibbs in November for $1.922m.
The house was finished in 2020 and has panoramic views of mountain peaks, city lights and the sea.
Another Heazlewood and Phibbs sale was a property in Moncks Bay for $2.85m, which featured cedar, bluestone and concrete with timber floors and a floating staircase.
- Click here to find more properties for sale in Christchurch
