The Southland region had the strongest property value growth in the country, according to the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) latest House Price Index, with a 20.2% increase to a new record high of 3,049 (up from an annual increase of 10.5% in June 2018 and an index level of 2,536). 

National property values have continued to fall with a decline in the rate of annual growth from 3.8% in June 2018 to 1.7% in June 2019, although values are still in positive territory.

Southland's growth was followed by Manawatu/Wanganui, with an annual growth rate of 18.3% to 3,089, up from an annual increase of 9.8% at the same time last year and Gisborne/Hawke’s Bay with a 9.1% annual increase to 2,738.

REINZ chief executive Bindi Norwell said the Southland region was "clearly the shining star in June" with the strongest annual growth rate seen across the country.

“Over the last two years, Southland has only seen two months where the region hasn’t experienced double-digit year-on-year growth. With such strong level of growth for so long now, this is certainly an area to watch over the coming months,” she said.

Looking around the country, 11 out of 12 regions saw an annual increase in the index level. The only region not to experience an increase was Auckland, which saw an annual decrease of -3.5% to 2,784. Although, this is up on the trough of 2,774 reported in April this year.

Other regions that saw strong results in June were Otago (+8.3%) and Waikato (+5.2%) to new record high index levels of 2,932 and 2,949 respectively when compared to the same time last year.

A house price index is an analytic tool used to measure house price trends. It is expressed as a scale and can be broken down by geography or key attributes.

REINZ says its HPI takes many aspects of market composition into account resulting in a more accurate observation of market value.