Hottest 10 real estate suburbs across Christchurch revealed

The owners of this property on Roystone Way, Huntsbury, will entertain offers of more than $1.89 million. The four-bedroom house last sold for $240,000 in 2004. Photo: Supplied

It was hard-hit by the Christchurch earthquakes but a decade on Huntsbury is soaring as property values go through the roof.

The suburb at the base of the Port Hills, where the first sections were sold in January 1920, leads the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand’s latest breakdown of the top 10 locations in Christchurch in terms of median (mid-point) house prices.

In the year to September, Huntsbury’s median house price surged from $550,000 to $830,000 – an increase of 49.5 per cent.

Ray White auctioneer Tim McGoldrick said suburbs in the Cashmere High School zone – which includes Huntsbury and Spreydon – were proving popular.

“Anyone who is wanting to maybe look at Cashmere High School . . . those fringe areas like Sydenham, St Martins, Spreydon, definitely Somerfield and Beckenham . . . there’s good activity across the board,” he said.

“Your first home buyers, your top-tier properties . . . things are moving well and right across the region there seems to be a very good clearance rate.

“People still want properties in good established areas, whether or not its buyers that are coming back from overseas to settle or investors getting back into the market who haven’t been able to travel.”

This four-bedroom house on Huntsbury’s Swanton Drive is due to go under the hammer next month. It is valued in the range of $1m to 1.1m and last sold for $200,000 in 2007. Photo: Supplied

Unsurprisingly Fendalton was another lucrative address with the median rising 41.3 per cent from $1,035,000 to $1,462,500.

Edgeware was another big improver with the median price now $475,000, up 37.7 per cent from $345,000 in September 2019.

Shirley (26.4 per cent)., Riccarton (26.3 per cent) and Burwood (25.1 per cent) also showed significant gains.

Sockburn was the most sought after suburb with monthly sales jumping from 13 in September last year to 37 last month.

That increased interest was reflected in median houses prices, which spiraled 21.9 per cent to $451,000.

Parklands was also a popular destination with 64 transactions last month, the highest amount among the top 10.

The REINZ sales data backs up figures the organisations recently released detailing a boom in property sales in the city and Canterbury region last month.

The number of residential properties sold hit the highest volume since March 2016, as the real estate industry booms in spite of the Covid-19 pandemic.

This block of four two-bedroom flats in Dallas St, Riccarton, is ripe for redevelopment after fetching $910,000. Photo: Supplied

House sales in the region jumped 39 per cent from the same time last year as 1173 changed hands, an increase of 329 to out strip the national average of 37.1 per cent.

Median prices also spiked in Canterbury with an 11.1 per cent increase from $450,000 in September 2019 to $500,000.

Christchurch’s median house price was $503,000 in September, 5.9 per cent higher than a year ago.

Days to sell were also an indicator of the heat in the market. In Canterbury the current days to sell of 30 days is three less than the 10-year average for September.

The REINZ said low interest rates, relaxed restrictions and high confidence in the market was driving the surge, alongside a lack of supply.

Angela Stone from Harcourts said Covid-19 had made property ownership more appealing in these uncertain times.

“During Covid people have sat down, had really good conversations about each other and they’re like ‘Let’s find out dream home, let’s put our family first,” she said.

“They are looking to the future and really wanting some security, owning a home certainly gives people that feeling of security.”

Christchurch’s top suburbs for median price increases September 2019 to September 2020: