Property Market Update

Residential and rural markets have been relatively bouyant over the last 18 months, with particularly strong buyer interest in the lower price brackets.

Whakatane & Ohope Residential

After a period in the doldrums, the Whakatane property market entered a very positive phase in 2015, with a significant up-turn in the volume of transactions and steady price growth.  After the Coronavirus lockdown in early 2020, property prices surged strongly.

In March 2021 the Government announced widespread housing policy changes aimed at cooling property markets.  New rules affecting the ‘Bright-Line’ test and the deductibility of interest were aimed at easing the market and swinging the balance from investors back towards first home buyers.  Subsequent interest rate rises together with tightened bank lending criteria also cooled the market. Currently, prices are softer but transaction volumes have been improving.

Lifestyle Market

From 2018 the median value for lifestyle blocks surged through to the middle of 2021 since which time sale numbers have slowed, and in particular the first three months of 2023 have been slow in terms of sale numbers.  In terms of sale prices, lifestyle properties have continued to fetch good prices in particular for well-located and well-presented properties, and in particular sales above $1,000,000 have been increasing in number over the past three years.  Entry level lifestyle properties now fall in the $600,000 - $800,000 price bracket.