Where to find the hottest properties in 2020

158 Hills Rd, Edgeware. Photos Supplied

What will be the hottest suburbs for property buyers in 2020?

St Albans, Edgeware, Richmond and Addington could be popular spots for first home buyers this year.

Linwood, Opawa, Phillipstown, Woolston and Addington could also prove to be attractive for investors looking to rent out properties.

Harcourts real estate agent Jonny Nicholls said properties in St Albans, Edgeware and Richmond were well-liked among first home buyers last year and he expected this to continue.

“These areas are quite affordable," he said.

"You get a lot of house, a lot of land, you get the school zones, you get the close proximity to the city, that’s why they are quite popular.

14A Cardiff Ave, Somerfield.

Statistics from Core Logic show St Albans has a median property value of $579,000 and Richmond a median value of $358,850. There was no data for Edgeware.

Mr Nicholls said Addington, which has a median value of $355,450, would continue to attract investors looking to rent out properties.

“Addington proves to be popular for investors because you can get cheap property and get good deals. It is high density so developers also find it really appealing.

“The likes of places like Phillipstown and Linwood have probably got a way to go but it is cheap and affordable so there could be a fair bit of interest there.”

Mr Nicholls said there was increasing interest in Christchurch from people living outside the city.

“Seventeen per cent of our inquiries have come from outside of Christchurch. That is almost double to what we have had in previous years, and talking to other agents in town, this is probably a trend.

“Most of our inquiry is coming from Auckland - you can get two houses for the price of one up there.

“Instead of someone putting $1 million into a home up there, they’ve realised they can now come down to a city that is still extremely undervalued and buy a home for themselves and a rental investment, and with good growth predicted over the coming years, they give themselves the chance to get ahead.”

Bayleys residential and projects divisional manager Justin Haley predicted a large portion of the city will experience some “overdue catch-up growth.”

24 Frankleigh St, Somerfield.

He says any suburb with a median property value lower than the national median of $654,000 could expect growth.

Christchurch’s median sits at $462,000.

“I think the suburb to watch is just Christ-church in general to be honest," Mr Haley said.

"Any suburb with a median that sits below that national figure I would be predicting to experience some overdue catch-up growth."

Christchurch has an average property value of $507,852, which is an annual increase of 2.3 per cent. This also sits below the national figure of $710,129.

Nationally, the average property value rose by 0.9 per cent in December with the annual rate of growth increasing to four per cent, which is the strongest annual growth figure since September 2017.

The quarterly rate of growth for the last three months of 2019 was 2.7 per cent, which was the largest quarterly increase since November 2016 (3.9 per cent).

Auckland remains the city with the highest average, in spite of an annual decrease of 0.1 per cent, at $1,047,110.

29a Slater St, Richmond.

Hamilton, Tauranga, Wellington and Dunedin all have averages higher than Christchurch.

Mr Haley says Addington should be particularly popular among first home buyers in Christchurch this year.

“Addington is going to be quite popular, it is close to the CBD and Hagley Park.”

He said Linwood, Opawa, Phillipstown and parts of Woolston will also attract investors looking to rent out properties.

Phillipstown had the lowest median average last year across Christchurch and Bank Peninsula at $291,100, Aranui was the second-lowest at $297,100 and Linwood was the third-lowest with an average of $321,700. Opawa has a median value of $528,750 and Woolston has $363,350.

Scarborough was the suburb with the highest median house value. The coastal suburb had a median value of $1,179,650, which was followed by Fendalton at $1,164,800 and then Kennedys Bush at $1,112,550.

Akaroa had the greatest increase in median value with an 11.6 per cent rise. South New Brighton had the biggest decrease with a drop of three per cent.

28 Fairfield Ave, Addington.

Mr Haley said he was “not surprised” by the statistics.

“Scarborough and Fendalton traditionally hold high median house prices and I guess the New Brighton region is still suffering post-earthquake,” he said.

The most expensive property sold in Christchurch in 2019 was Kate Sheppard House at $4.5 million.

Herne Bay in Auckland was the suburb with the highest median value in NZ with $2,448,800. Runanga on the West Coast was the lowest at $135,550. The most expensive sale was made at 516 Frankton-Ladies Mile in Queenstown for $15,500,000.

1/59 Olliviers Rd, Phillipstown.

With a projected 90,000 sales in 2019, an increase from the decade average of 88,000, Core Logic predicts 95,000 this year.

It also predicts average property values to rise.

“After an anticipated nationwide increase in average property values of about 3.5 per cent in 2019, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see growth of at least five per cent in 2020,” it said.