Canterbury Property Market

This article breaks down all the most essential facts about the Canterbury property market.

The Canterbury property market is made up of 9 districts and 134 suburbs. These districts are the Christchurch City, Kaikoura, Hurunui, Waimakariri, Selwyn, MacKenzie, Ashburton, Timaru and Waimate.

As at December 2021, the median house price in Canterbury is $680,000. This is up from $350,000 10 years earlier. That means that the median Canterbury property increased in value by 7.50% each year.

The most expensive suburb in Canterbury is Fendalton, which has a median house price of $1,551,050 and is located in the Christchurch City district. That means that Fendalton's median house price is 1.28x Canterbury’s median.

The least expensive suburb in Canterbury is Hampstead, which has a median house price of $390,450 and is located in the Ashburton district. That means that Hampstead's median house price is 42.58% cheaper than Canterbury’s median.

Over the last 21 years (Jan 2000 – Dec 2021), Kensington had the fastest-growing house prices in all of Canterbury, at 8.29% per year. That is 29.08% faster than the median Canterbury house price.

The suburb that grew the slowest over that period was Westmorland, which grew at a rate of 5.49% per year. That’s 14.55% slower than the median Canterbury house price.

On average, over the last 29 years, Canterbury’s median house price has been 87.11% of New Zealand’s median house price.

Assuming the long term fundamentals of either property market have not changed, Canterbury’s median house price should track back to this long term average.

That suggests that when Canterbury’s median house price is below its long term average, there is a buying opportunity. When Canterbury’s median house price is above its long term average, there are buying opportunities in other regions.

As of December 2021, Canterbury’s median house price for the previous 12 months was 72.46% of New Zealand’s median house price. That is 14.65% below its long term ratio, which suggests there is a buying opportunity in Canterbury.

This map shows a breakdown of how over or under-valued each council area is right now in the Canterbury property market. These figures are calculated exactly the same way as the graph in the above section.

MacKenzie district appears to be the most over-valued. House prices there are about 32.46% above where we would usually expect them to be over the long term.

Christchurch City, on the other hand, appears to be under-valued. House prices in this district appear to be 20.38% below where we would expect them to be.

This means that we've got greater confidence that Christchurch City would receive a higher rate of capital growth (house price increases) over the next 5-10 years compared to MacKenzie.

The map below depicts which districts within the Canterbury Region have the most and least affordable house prices (REINZ, December 2021).

The darker the district, the more expensive the average house price for that area...

The Selwyn district is by far the most expensive district within the Canterbury region, with properties reaching an average price of $830,000 (December 2021).

By comparison, the Waimate District is the most affordable, with an average house price of just $390,000. That's an enormous $440,000 difference compared to Selwyn.

The map below illustrates the projected population growth for each district within the Canterbury Region over the next 25 years (2018 - 2043).

The darker the district, the more the population is predicted to expand in that area...

Over this period, the Selwyn district is expected to see the most growth of all the council areas within the region – 60.74% in total.

By contrast, the Kaikoura district is expected to shrink by 4.36% over the same timeframe.

The Christchurch property market is made up of 85 suburbs. The most expensive suburb as of December 2021 is Fendalton, which has a median house price of $1,551,050. While the most affordable suburb is Aranui, which has a median house price of $405,750.

Over the last 22 years of all Christchurch City suburbs (Jan 2000 – Dec 2021), Strowan had the fastest-growing house, at 7.05% per year. That is 9.80% faster than the median Canterbury house price.

The suburb that grew the slowest over that period was Westmorland, which grew at a rate of 5.49% per year. That’s 14.55% slower than the median Canterbury house price.

The Ashburton district is made up of 8 suburbs. The most expensive suburb is Elgin, which has a median house price of $655,950. While the most affordable suburb is Hampstead, which has a median house price of $390,450.

Over the last 22 years of all Ashburton district suburbs (Jan 2000 – Dec 2021), Hampstead had the fastest-growing house, at 6.55% per year. That is 2.08% faster than the median Canterbury house price.

The suburb that grew the slowest over that period was Allenton, which grew at a rate of 6.06% per year. That’s 5.64% slower than the median Canterbury house price.

The Hurunui district is made up of 3 suburbs. The most expensive suburb is Hanmer Springs, which has a median house price of $651,650. While the most affordable suburb is Leithfield, which has a median house price of $519,150.

Over the last 24 months of all Hurunui district suburbs (Dec 2019 – Dec 2021), Leithfield had the fastest-growing house, at 15.36% per year. That is 13.28% slower than the median Canterbury house price over the same period.

The suburb that grew the slowest over that period was Hanmer Springs, which grew at a rate of 12.57% per year. That’s 29.04% slower than the median Canterbury house price.

The Kaikoura district is made up of 1 suburb, also named Kaikoura, which has a median house price of $576,350.

Over the last 24 months (Dec 2019 - Dec 2021) the median Kaikoura house value grew by 10.27%, which is 41.99% slower than the median Canterbury house price over the same period.

The Waimakariri district is made up of 8 suburbs. The most expensive suburb is Woodend Beach, which has a median house price of $795,650. While the most affordable suburb is The Pines Beach, which has a median house price of $494,700.

Over the last 24 months of all Waimakariri district suburbs (Dec 2019 – Dec 2021), Woodend Beach had the fastest-growing house, at 21.41% per year. That is 20.88% faster than the median Canterbury house price.

The suburb that grew the slowest over that period was Oxford, which grew at a rate of 16.48% per year. That’s 6.96% slower than the median Canterbury house price.

The MacKenzie district is made up of 2 suburbs. The most expensive suburb is Twizel, which has a median house price of $589,800.

Over the last 24 months (Dec 2019 – Dec 2021), Twizel grew at 6.78% per year. That is 61.74% slower than the median Canterbury house price of this same period.

The Selwyn district is made up of 11 suburbs. The most expensive suburb is West Melton, which has a median house price of $1,106,950. While the most affordable suburb is Darfield, which as of December 2021 has a median house price of $567,150.

Over the last 24 months of all Selwyn district suburbs (Dec 2019 – Dec 2021), Rolleston had the fastest-growing house, at 19.56% per year. That is 10.42% faster than the median Canterbury house price.

The suburb that grew the slowest over that period was Lincoln, which grew at a rate of 14.40% per year. That’s 18.70% slower than the median Canterbury house price.

The Timaru district is made up of 15 suburbs. The most expensive suburb is Gleniti, which has a median house price of $675,050. While the most affordable suburb is Kensington, which has a median house price of $397,200.

Over the last 22 years of all Timaru district suburbs (Jan 2000 – Dec 2021), Kensington had the fastest-growing house, at 8.29% per year. That is 29.08% faster than the median Canterbury house price.

The suburb that grew the slowest over that period was Geraldine, which grew at a rate of 6.82% per year. That is 6.27% faster than the median Canterbury house price.

The Waimate district is made up of 1 suburb, also named Waimate, which has a median house price of $396,900.

Over the last 24 months (Dec 2019 – Dec 2021), Waimate house prices grew by 18.63%. That is 5.15% faster than the median Canterbury house price over this period.

If you found this article useful, then you might also like our analyses on the other property markets in New Zealand. You can read all about the Auckland property market, the Wellington property market and the Christchurch property market by clicking any of the links mentioned here.