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WEDNESDAY JANUARY 20, 2022
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JANUARY 20, 2022
The millionaire’s club By Mary Anne Gill
Cambridge has joined the million-dollar housing club and outside of six suburbs in Hamilton, has the highest median house value in the Waikato. CoreLogic’s Mapping the Market Report released this week showed the median house price in Cambridge last year was $1,070,350, up 24.8 per cent on the previous year’s $857,350. Leamington is up 24.1 per cent to $904,750. Other Waipā communities also saw significant median house price rises – Pirongia up 18.7 per cent to $812,150, Te Awamutu up 20.1 per cent to $714,100 and Kihikihi up 19.6 per cent to $667,550. Close Waikato district neighbours in Tamahere saw a 26.9 per cent increase to $939,550 while in Ōtorohanga and Te Kuiti, the median values were steady
at $505,600 and $387,950. Cambridge has joined Harrowfield, Rototuna, Rototuna North, Flagstaff, Huntington, and Queenwood in the Waikato million-dollar club. Median prices are calculated by taking the middle value when a data set is ordered from least to greatest. The increases in and around Waipā have been fuelled by low mortgage rates, limited stock and Aucklanders moving south but those contributors are already changing, CoreLogic chief property economist Kelvin Davidson told The News. “We can easily see a switch to a buyers’ market this year. There are very strong challenges coming - 2022 is going to be very different from 2021. I’m not saying house prices will fall though.”
For those who would struggle to sell and buy in the same market, another option would be to stay and invest in their property. “Some people can’t move so they say, ‘I’m going to stay where I am and add that extra bedroom’.” Top of those challenges are increased mortgage rates and a law change on December 1 which imposed tougher lending rules on buyers. Even those with pre-approved mortgages were finding banks are reviewing their offers, said one industry analyst. Forsyth Barr’s Cambridgebased head of wealth management research Matt Henry said the New Zealand housing market now looks more vulnerable after several good years. “We have some of the most unaffordable houses in the world,” he said. Continued on page 2
Location
2020 Value
2021 Value
% Increase
$ Increase
Cambridge Kihikihi Leamington Ōhaupō Pirongia Tamahere Te Awamutu
$857,350 $558,250 $729,050 $596,450 $684,050 $740,550 $594,400
$1,070,350 $667,550 $904,750 $726,750 $812,150 $939,550 $714,100
24.8% 19.6% 24.1% 21.8% 18.7% 26.9% 20.1%
$213,000 $109,300 $175,700 $130,300 $128,100 $199,000 $119,700
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