Christchurch house prices: 2024 market & suburbs to watch

• Chch property value average $758,452 (CoreLogic). 

• Christchurch property is the cheapest of the five biggest cities in NZ.

• Christchurch property prices rose consistently from 2014 to late 2021, when they decreased by 10.72% (Opes Partners). 

• The average value in Christchurch increased by 1.6% in the 12 months to February 2024. This was the biggest increase out of all five major cities. 

Compared to the other main centres (Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga and Wellington) the Christchurch property market has performed well over the last 12 months. The city experienced the post-Covid boom like other centres but the downturn was not as keenly felt here. 

This was mainly due to the fact that Christchurch property is far cheaper than northern cities like Auckland, so affordability was not as stretched when interest rates began increasing. 

• Auckland: -4.7%
• Tauranga: -3.7%
• Hamilton: -3.1%
• Wellington: -2.0%
• Christchurch: +1.9%

There are a few distinct areas in Christchurch and average house prices can vary considerably between them. Here are the average prices and the yearly price changes for those areas, according to CoreLogic:

• Banks Peninsula: $820,479 (down 0.2%). 

• Christchurch central and north: $863,864 (up 1.4%)

• Christchurch East: $594,474 (up 1.1%)

• Christchurch Hills: $1,058,122 (up 1.1%)

• Christchurch Southwest: $721,235 (up 2.8%)

If we drill down a little deeper on a suburb level we can see that Fendalton northeast of Hagley Park was the most expensive suburb in Christchurch ($1.66m) and Philipstown is the cheapest ($447,400). 

On a suburb level recently cheaper areas have seen the strongest value growth, which is due to stretched affordability caused by high interest rates. These areas also tend to have higher rental yields. On the other hand, more affluent Christchurch suburbs such as Strowan tend to have higher long term growth, which may be due to the higher incomes of their residents. 

1. Islington: 4.7%

2. Templeton: 4.5%

3. Duvauchelle: 4.4%

4. South New Brighton, Saint Martins & Spreydon: 4.3%.

5. South Shore: 3.9%

1. Strowan: 6.8%.

2. Sumner, Richmond Hill & Scarborough: 6.62%.

3. Beckenham & Merivale: 6.59%.

4. Hornby: 6.55%

5. Saint Albans: 6.52%.