NZ house prices continue to push higher: QV

[WELLINGTON] New Zealand house prices continued to rise in March, government property appraiser Quotable Value (QV) said on Wednesday, driving its residential property price index up an annual 11.4 per cent.

The index is now 35 per cent above the market's previous peak in late 2007, QV said.

House prices in Auckland were 16.9 per cent higher on the year and are now 70.4 per cent higher than at the 2007 peak, although Auckland house prices decreased by 0.2 per cent over the past three months, QV said.

"Home values have risen in most parts of New Zealand in the first quarter of 2016 with the exception of the Auckland region where values have been on a slight downward trend over the past three months," said QV National Spokesperson Andrea Rush.

She noted, however, that trend may be coming to an end as values rose by 0.6 per cent over the past month.

REUTERS