Property Market

5 min read16 Mar 2026

What's happening with Waikato house prices?

Council area of Waikato

Explore Waikato's property market for the latest trends, house prices, market cycles, rental yields, and top investment suburbs

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.

Last Updated: 16 Mar 2026

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What's happening to Waikato house prices?

The average price of a Waikato property is $737,165 (QV, January 2026).

Waikato house prices are up 3.69% over the last three months (REINZ). And they are 2.70% up over the last 12 months.

Quick Facts

The average price of a Waikato property is $737,165 (QV, January 2026)
Over the last 3 months property prices in Waikato have gone up 3.69%
Waikato property prices increased 5.69% per year (on average) in the 20 years between February 2006 - February 2026 (REINZ)
The average rent in Waikato is $610 per week (Tenancy Services, January 2026)

How are Waikato property prices changing?

Waikato house prices soared after the Covid-19 pandemic began. House prices started out 36% below the eventual peak of the market.

However, after that peak in November 2021, house prices fell 19.30% before bottoming out in July 2024.

Today, Waikato house prices are down 13.47% compared to their peak. That means prices have risen 7.23% since the bottom of the market.

Where is Waikato in its property cycle?

At the absolute bottom of its property cycle, Waikato was 22.32% undervalued.

Today, property prices in Waikato are overvalued 17.88%.

That suggests there is a selling opportunity in Waikato.

Waikato suburb prices

I track the value of 13 suburbs in Waikato. The most expensive suburb is Raglan, which has an average house value of $1,101,900. While the most affordable suburb is Huntly, which has an average house value of $508,400.

Over the last 24 months of all Waikato suburbs (January 2024 - January 2026, Ngaruawahia had the fastest-growing house prices. They have gone up 3.48% over that period.

The suburb that fell the fastest over that period was Pokeno. Property values in this suburb fell by 4.95% over those 2 years.

What is the Waikato rental market like?

Here's how rents are changing in Waikato. Over the last four years (January 2022 - January 2026) the median rent has gone up $80 a week. That's 3.58% a year (on average).

Over the last 12 months, rents have gone up. They are up 1.67% ($10 a week) year on year.

Are properties selling above or below CV in Waikato?

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 Waikato.

The area in Waikato selling the highest vs CV is Thames-Coromandel District where house prices are current selling 6% above CV.

The area in Waikato selling the lowest vs CV is Taupo District where house prices are selling 9% 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 Waikato property market here.

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Ok, now for the legal bit:

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.

You might like to use us or another financial adviser.