Property market finds its floor; Hamilton house prices stabilising

After months of declining house prices, the Hamilton property market has “found its floor” according to a local property expert.

Thanks to an equalising market, house prices are reaching a stable footing due to a combination of appropriate asking prices and buyers acting quickly, says Lodge Real Estate Managing Director Jeremy O’Rourke.

“Sales figures are showing us that a sense of urgency has picked up in the market, and we’re no longer seeing the ‘wait and see’ attitude among buyers that was common in the past few months, where buyers were hesitant to put in an offer just in case house prices fell further,” he says.

“However we’re not seeing that steep price fall like we did last year when housing volume was declining at the same time.

“The lesson for buyers here is if you see value in a property, take the opportunity to buy, otherwise someone else will also see the value and act quicker than you.”

Sales in Hamilton are currently sitting at a median of $760,000 to $780,000, with REINZ figures nationally show the median house price at $762,000.

Jeremy says previous first-home buyers are releasing and buying up into their next property, which is increasing the supply of homes suitable for the first home market, with first-home buyers now accounting for 30% of the market.

“As those previous first-home buyers are selling their homes and moving up a price bracket, we’re now seeing a rise in houses being sold in the $1 million to $1.5 million range. This is particularly evident in the northeast suburbs of Hamilton.”

He says vendors selling within the $1-$1.5M price range are receiving multiple offers, with sales in this bracket accounting for around 16% of current market sales.

Jeremy is also predicting a more active April than usual as buyers keep tabs on the market in order to jump when the right opportunity presents.

“Traditionally April is a slower month with public holidays and school holidays, with buyers taking a bit of a rest. But with the interest we’ve been fielding lately it’s possible April could remain quite busy.

“March is on track to achieve just over 200 house sales across Hamilton, which is a volume level the market hasn’t seen since November 2022.”