Property Market
5 min read
What's happening with Manawatu house prices?
Council area of Manawatu-Wanganui
Author: Ed McKnight
Resident Economist, with a GradDipEcon and over five years at Opes Partners, is a trusted contributor to NZ Property Investor, Informed Investor, Stuff, Business Desk, and OneRoof.
Reviewed by: Laine Moger
Journalist and Property Educator with six years of experience, holds a Bachelor of Communication (Honours) from Massey University.
What's happening to Manawatu house prices?
The average price of a Manawatu property is $606,417 (QV, January 2026).
Manawatu house prices are up 4.30% over the last three months (REINZ). And they are 9.29% up over the last 12 months.
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Quick Facts
- The average price of a Manawatu property is $606,417 (QV, January 2026)
- Over the last 3 months property prices in Manawatu have gone up 4.30%
- Manawatu property prices increased 5.52% per year (on average) in the 20 years between February 2006 - February 2026 (REINZ)
- The average rent in Manawatu is $598 per week (Tenancy Services, January 2026)
How are Manawatu property prices changing?
Manawatu house prices soared after the Covid-19 pandemic began. House prices started out 33% below the eventual peak of the market.
However, after that peak in October 2021, house prices fell 19.14% before bottoming out in July 2023.
Today, Manawatu house prices are down 9.64% compared to their peak. That means prices have risen 11.74% since the bottom of the market.
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Where is Manawatu in its property cycle?
At the absolute bottom of its property cycle, Manawatu was 23.62% undervalued.
Today, property prices in Manawatu are overvalued 12.35%.
That suggests there is a selling opportunity in Manawatu.
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Manawatu suburb prices
I track the value of 6 suburbs in Manawatu. The most expensive suburb is Halcombe, which has an average house value of $656,450. While the most affordable suburb is Sanson, which has an average house value of $502,550.
Over the last 24 months of all Manawatu suburbs (January 2024 - January 2026, Rongotea had the fastest-growing house prices. They have gone up 4.90% over that period.
The suburb that fell the fastest over that period was Halcombe. Property values in this suburb fell by 4.17% over those 2 years.
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What is the Manawatu rental market like?
Here's how rents are changing in Manawatu. Over the last four years (January 2022 - January 2026) the median rent has gone up $98 a week. That's 4.58% a year (on average).
Over the last 12 months, rents have gone up. They are up 12.83% ($68 a week) year on year.
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Are properties selling above or below CV in Manawatu?
One of the most common questions I get asked is: 'Ed, are properties selling above or below their Capital Value (CV)?'
Some call it the RV (Rateable Value) or GV (Government Value).
Why do people care? Well, if you go on TradeMe (or another website), you’ll almost always see the council’s valuation for the property. So even if the seller hasn't advertised a price, you can get a feel for what the property might sell for.
This table shows whether the average property is selling above or below CV across Manawatu-Wanganui.
The area in Manawatu-Wanganui selling the highest vs CV is Whanganui District where house prices are current selling 6% above CV.
The area in Manawatu-Wanganui selling the lowest vs CV is Ruapehu District where house prices are selling 6% below CV.
Other property markets to look into
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 Manawatu-Wanganui property market here.
Current Property Listings
This property market information is for your general information. It’s not financial advice. See here for details about our Financial Advice Provider Disclosure. So Opes isn’t telling you what to do with your own money.
We’ve made every effort to make sure the information is accurate. But property markets change, and we occasionally get the odd fact wrong. Make sure you do your own research or talk to a financial adviser before making any investment decisions.
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