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Property Market
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How is the Wellington property market going? Wellington house prices
Dive into Wellington's property market trends with key insights on house prices, growth areas, and investment opportunities for 2024.
Author: Ed McKnight
Our Resident Economist, with a GradDipEcon and over five years at Opes Partners, is a trusted contributor to NZ Property Investor, Informed Investor, Stuff, Business Desk, and OneRoof.
Reviewed by: Andrew Nicol
Managing Director, 20+ Years' Experience Investing In Property, Author & Host
Wellington's median house price is $773,000
Wellington house prices
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As at November 2024, the median house price in Wellington is $773,000. This is up from $426,000 10 years earlier. That means that the median Wellington property increased in value by 6.14% each year, or $34,700 on average.
The most expensive suburb in Wellington is Seatoun, which has a median house price of $1,723,550 and is located in the Wellington City district. That means that Seatoun's median house price is 223% of Wellington’s median.
The least expensive suburb in Wellington is Wellington Central, which has a median house price of $447,750 and is located in the Wellington City district. That means that Wellington Central's median house price is 58% of Wellington’s median.
Over the last 24 months (Dec 2022 - Dec 2024), Paparangi had the fastest-growing house prices in all of Wellington, at 0% per year.
The suburb that grew the slowest over that period was Featherston, which grew at a rate of -9% per year.
Wellington's house price is 4.43% below its long term average
Is Wellington over or undervalued?
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Wellington house prices look relatively cheap compared to where we'd expect them to be.
In the above graph, when the purple line is below the baseline (black line), Wellington's house values are undervalued. This suggests there is a buying opportunity in the region.
When Wellington’s house values are above the baseline, other regions have buying opportunities.
How is this calculated? Click on the accordions below to find out.
More from Opes Partners:
Where do house prices grow the fastest in the Wellington property market?
This map lets you find out for yourself.
Each area represents a different suburb, and the colour of the area represents how quickly house prices have increased over the past 20+ years.
The redder the area ... the quicker house prices have grown in that suburb.
Which Wellington suburbs have the highest yields?
Gross yields vary widely depending on which suburb you chose to investigate.
So, which suburbs in the Wellington property market have the highest gross rental yields?
Navigate the map to find the suburbs where houses produce the most cash for their investors.
Are properties selling above or below CV?
One of the most common questions I get asked is: “Ed, are properties selling above or below the Council Valuation (CV)?”
Some call it the RV (Rateable Value) or GV (Government Value).
Why do people care? Well, if you go on TradeMe (or another website), you’ll almost always see the council’s valuation for the property.
Where are the most affordable properties in Wellington?
The map below depicts which districts within the Wellington Region have the most and least affordable house prices (REINZ, November 2024).
The darker the district, the more expensive the median house price for that area.
The Kapiti Coast District is the most expensive district within the Wellington Region, with properties reaching a median price of $835,000 in November 2024.
By comparison, the Masterton District is the most affordable, with a median house price of just $515,000. That's a $320,000 difference compared to Kapiti Coast District.
Where are house prices most over and undervalued within the Wellington region?
This map shows a breakdown of how over or under-valued each council area is right now in the Wellington property market. These figures are calculated exactly the same way as the HPI based graph in the above section.
South Wairarapa District appears to be the most overvalued area in Wellington. House prices there are about 23.41% above where we would usually expect them to be over the long term.
Wellington City, on the other hand, appears to be the most undervalued in Wellington. House prices in this district appear to be 12.20% below where we would expect them to be.
This means that we've got greater confidence that Wellington City house prices will increase faster over the next 5-10 years compared to South Wairarapa District.
Which part of Wellington gets the highest population growth?
The map below illustrates the projected population growth for each district within the Wellington Region over the next 25 years (2023 - 2048).
The darker the district, the more the population is predicted to expand in that area.
Over this period, Porirua city is expected to see the most growth of all the council areas within the region. 13.04% in total.
By contrast, Kapiti Coast district is expected to grow by 7.61% over the same timeframe.
How are Wellington's house prices changing right now?
Wellington's capital growth rate
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The above graph shows how quickly house prices have increased or decreased over the previous 12 months. This is also known as ‘capital growth’.
So does this show how the property market is going right now?
Yes and no.
It shows how expensive properties are today compared to 12 months ago.
While this will give us a good sense of how property values have changed, it’s not the only thing to consider.
You might also look at how quickly property values are going up (or down) from month to month, the number of property sales and how quickly properties are selling.
What is the median rent in Wellington?
Wellington's median rent
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The above graph shows the median rent within a given month.
The data comes from the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment (MBIE) and is provided through their Tenancy Services website.
Their data is based on all the rental bonds lodged by private landlords within the month.
What is the annual increase in rents in Wellington?
Wellington's annual increase in rents
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This graph shows the annual growth in median rents.
The data also comes from the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment (MBIE).
How many listings are currently available in Wellington?
Wellington current listings (Housing stock)
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This graph shows current property listings, with data sourced from realestate.co.nz.
It shows the number of listings that are currently available on the website per month.
You might be wondering: “How do the number of listings impact house prices?”
If many listings are available, then people will think there is lots of supply. This means that people feel like they can take their time choosing a property.
This leads to less competition and softer house prices.
On the other hand, if there aren’t many listings available, people will feel like there is a shortage of houses. This leads to FOMO (fear of missing out).
This makes people more competitive and more likely to bid up house prices.
How many properties are sold per year in Wellington?
Wellington – Number of properties sold per year
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The above graph shows the total number of properties sold over the prior 12 months. For example, if looking at the data for August 2023, the graph will show all the sales between September 2022 – August 2023.
The data comes from the REINZ Market Insights Report and The Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) collects data directly from agents.
You might be wondering: “How does the volume of sales impact house prices?”
They don’t impact house prices on their own. But a high number of sales represents a hot property market.
That’s because there are a lot of people out there buying property.
That’s why when sales volumes are high, property prices typically increase at the same time.
When property sales are falling, typically, property prices are also soft.
Wellington City suburb prices
Wellington City
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Wellington City is made up of 46 suburbs. The most expensive suburb is Seatoun, which has an average house value of $1,723,550. While the most affordable suburb is Wellington Central, which has an average house value of $447,750.
Over the last 24 months of all the Wellington City suburbs (Dec 2022 - Dec 2024), Paparangi had the fastest-growing house prices at -0.10% per year.
The suburb that grew the slowest over that period was Melrose, which grew at a rate of -7.19% per year.
Lower Hutt City suburb prices
Lower Hutt
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Lower Hutt City is made up of 28 suburbs. The most expensive suburb is Woburn, which has an average house value of $1,153,250. While the most affordable suburb is Naenae, which has an average house value of $611,900.
Over the last 24 months of all the Lower Hutt City suburbs (Dec 2022 - Dec 2024), Wainuiomata had the fastest-growing house prices at -1.91% per year.
The suburb that grew the slowest over that period was York Bay, which grew at a rate of -7.14% per year.
Upper Hutt City suburb prices
Upper Hutt
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Upper Hutt City is made up of 16 suburbs. The most expensive suburb is Riverstone Terraces, which has an average house value of $1,010,550. While the most affordable suburb is Maoribank, which has an average house value of $601,450.
Over the last 24 months of all the Upper Hutt City suburbs (Dec 2022 - Dec 2024), Heretaunga had the fastest-growing house prices at -1.33% per year.
The suburb that grew the slowest over that period was Timberlea, which grew at a rate of -3.98% per year.
Porirua City suburb prices
Porirua
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Porirua City is made up of 14 suburbs. The most expensive suburb is Aotea, which has an average house value of $1,163,150. While the most affordable suburb is Waitangirua, which has an average house value of $566,800.
Over the last 24 months of all the Porirua City suburbs (Dec 2022 - Dec 2024), Camborne had the fastest-growing house prices at -0.47% per year.
The suburb that grew the slowest over that period was Ascot Park, which grew at a rate of -3.89% per year.
Kapiti Coast District suburb prices
Kapiti Coast
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Kapiti Coast District is made up of 11 suburbs. The most expensive suburb is Waikanae Beach, which has an average house value of $937,400. While the most affordable suburb is Otaki Beach, which has an average house value of $602,600.
Over the last 24 months of all the Kapiti Coast District suburbs (Dec 2022 - Dec 2024), Waikanae Beach had the fastest-growing house prices at -2.22% per year.
The suburb that grew the slowest over that period was Otaki Beach, which grew at a rate of -5.35% per year.
South Wairarapa District suburb prices
South Wairarapa
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South Wairarapa District is made up of 4 suburbs. The most expensive suburb is Greytown, which has an average house value of $900,650. While the most affordable suburb is Featherston, which has an average house value of $543,100.
Over the last 24 months of all the South Wairarapa District suburbs (Dec 2022 - Dec 2024), Greytown had the fastest-growing house prices at -6.20% per year.
The suburb that grew the slowest over that period was Featherston, which grew at a rate of -9.20% per year.
Masterton District suburb prices
Masterton
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Masterton District is made up of 5 suburbs. The most expensive suburb is Lansdowne, which has an average house value of $611,400. While the most affordable suburb is Masterton, which has an average house value of $519,950.
Over the last 24 months of all the Masterton District suburbs (Dec 2022 - Dec 2024), Lansdowne had the fastest-growing house prices at -2.41% per year.
The suburb that grew the slowest over that period was Kuripuni, which grew at a rate of -4.63% per year.
Ed McKnight
Our Resident Economist, with a GradDipEcon and over five years at Opes Partners, is a trusted contributor to NZ Property Investor, Informed Investor, Stuff, Business Desk, and OneRoof.
Ed, our Resident Economist, is equipped with a GradDipEcon, a GradCertStratMgmt, BMus, and over five years of experience as Opes Partners' economist. His expertise in economics has led him to contribute articles to reputable publications like NZ Property Investor, Informed Investor, OneRoof, Stuff, and Business Desk. You might have also seen him share his insights on television programs such as The Project and Breakfast.
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