The southern housing market remains fickle even as the rate of decline for property values nationally appears to have stabilised, valuer QV's November price index suggests.
Dunedin's property values were 1.2% down on the same time last year and 5.9% below the market peak of 2008. The average sale price last month was $268,265.
The decline was also evident in Clutha (-3.8%, with an average sale price of $166,102), Southland (-4.7%, $190,386), and Invercargill (-1.7%, $211,467), the indices show.
Central Otago (up 1.6%, with an average sale price of $309,564), Queenstown (0.9%, $558,059) and Waitaki (0.3%, $219,011) bucked the trend, but growth had slowed since the October report.
QV Dunedin-based valuer Tim Gibson yesterday cautioned the Central Otago, Clutha, and Gore figures were based on low sales volumes. Even so, Mr Gibson said southern sale prices were "fickle" but the change between months suggested "some slight stabilisation".
In Dunedin, there was an increase in requests for valuation reports and, while some were for refinancing purposes, they might also reflect reports of more people at open homes.
Time would tell if it was a trend or just a rush of pre-Christmas activity in a "jittery" market with fewer sales than normal at this time of year, Mr Gibson said.
Economists tipped the Reserve Bank to leave the official cash rate unchanged tomorrow, but Mr Gibson doubted new certainty would start a run on properties after a year of rates "being as low as they had been for a very long time".
Nationally, QV.co.nz researcher Jonno Ingerson said the number of house sales continued to be relatively low and that the seasonal increase of properties was adding to the stock of unsold property.
The rate of decline had slowed and values appear to be stabilising. Last year, values steadily increased from a low in early 2009, he said.
QV's residential house price index was 0.3% above last November, but values were still 5.6% below the market peak of late 2007.
Auckland values were 1.8% higher than a year ago.
Wellington values were 1.6% down on a year ago but appeared to have started stabilising in the last month.
The Christchurch property market was beginning to recover after the September 4 earthquake, but the sales process was still taking longer than usual.
QV's index compares the prices of properties sold in the past three months with sales in the same period a year earlier.
The national average sales price over the past three months fell to $397,805 from last month's $399,055.
