Rotorua's Current Market Performance

Posted 8 Aug '18

by Admin on
Article appears under: Rotorua, Local Markets, The Numbers, Your Expert Team


In a recent news release Kelvin Davidson of CoreLogic waxed lyrical about Rotorua's property market performance and the strength behind this:

"The annual rate of growth in property values in Rotorua has been stronger than the national average since early 2016 and has even picked up a little in the past 2-3 months, as opposed to the national slowdown (see the first chart). In the past three years, average values in Rotorua have risen by 57% (almost $155,000) to a touch more than $427,000." You can read the full article here.

This comes as no surprise to us. Now average values have gone up $155,000 in three years so the gap with other cities has closed somewhat, however values still have phenomenal room to grow. In terms of growth in the last year Rotorua has outperformed neighbouring cities of Hamilton and Tauranga and even Queenstown as below table shows.

Average Property Value

July 2018 July 2017 % Change
Rotorua $428,000 $399,000 7.3%
Hamilton $559,000 $541,000 3.3%
Tauranga $703,000 $691,000 1.7%
Queenstown $1,169,000 $1,093,000 7%

Source: QV.co.nz

Incredibly Rotorua values are still 31% lower than Hamilton; 64% lower than Tauranga and - wait for it - 173% lower than Queenstown! This is incredible because Rotorua is the Queenstown of the North Island. Tourist numbers alone back this up but at the moment Rotorua is buzzing like never before. Rotorua Lakes Council are behind much of the current success winning at the Local Government New Zealand EXCELLENCE Awards for the second year running. Their partnership with Iwi is seeing fantastic benefits and development in and around the city. 

Rotorua is also now a globally recognised destination for mountain bikers. Successful hosting of Crankworx in recent years has been a boon for taking Rotorua trails to the world.

Then there are the multitude of beautiful lakes and proximity to main centres, the coast and the mountains. We meet people every weekend who have driven down from Auckland to bike in the forest. Almost invariably their ambition is to eventually move here permanently.

Some suburbs have taken off and become unaffordable to investors but if you know where to look there is still great buying in Rotorua. We think there are three suburbs in particular that will see significant growth in the next few years and look forward to helping investors on our Premium Buyers Service buy well in those areas.

Last 3 Months Sales in Rotorua by Suburb
Suburb No. Of Sales Median Sale Price Difference  Between
Sale Price & CV
Lake Tarawera 1 $619,000 1%
Lake Okareka 1 $594,000 11%
Lynmore 13 $554,000 6%
Springfield 17 $505,000 6%
Holdens Bay 4 $500,000 2%
Sunnybrook 9 $500,000 10%
Tihi-o-Tonga 4 $489,750 4%
Ngongotaha 15 $470,000 6%
Pomare 7 $457,200 6%
Glenholme 15 $404,089 5%
Hillcrest 6 $385,000 16%
Fairy Springs 7 $378,000 10%
Owhata 24 $367,000 3%
Pukehangi 23 $364,000 10%
Utuhina 7 $361,160 6%
Fenton Park 8 $339,500 6%
Hannahs Bay 1 $334,000 17%
Victoria 5 $324,000 3%
Kawaha Point 2 $322,500 1%
Whakarewarewa 1 $319,300 16%
Mamaku 2 $318,000 4%
Selwyn Heights 4 $318,000 4%
Mourea 1 $314,000 14%
Rotorua Central 4 $313,000 -3%
Mangakakahi 11 $267,000 2%
Western Heights 4 $254,500 6%
Koutu 4 $222,000 7%
Fordlands 4 $184,500 9%

Source QV.co.nz

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