NZ house price growth picks up for first time since Dec 2013

Wellington

GROWTH in New Zealand's house prices picked up for the first time in a year in January, driven by a lift in the biggest city where a lack of houses underpinned values, the government property valuer said on Tuesday.

Quotable Value's (QV) residential property index rose 5.7 per cent in the year to Jan 31, compared with an annual rate of 4.9 per cent in December.