Further signs property values easing

National residential property values have grown 4.9% over the past year, down from the 6.5% growth reported in March, according to the latest Quotable Value statistics for April.

The average New Zealand sale price remained steady at $388,465, according to the April report.

“Although the change in property values over the past 12 months is still positive at 4.9%, it’s interesting to look deeper into the figures,” says QV spokesperson Blue Hancock. “Most of this growth occurred in autumn last year, while values remained pretty flat through the second half of 2007. Over the first three months of 2008 we are beginning to see property values easing back over most areas of New Zealand. With property listings still high, buyer demand reducing and the typical slowdown through winter, we would expect this trend to continue and our monthly statistics will likely show declining values in the coming months.”

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