29 Mar 2016

NZ housing trends mirror Australia's

12:27 pm on 29 March 2016

New research shows the cost of housing in New Zealand rises and falls in a similar way to housing in Australia.

The study, by Wellington economic think tank Motu, looked at the eight biggest population centres in Australia and the eight biggest in New Zealand.

It found they all responded in a similar way to international trends, such as economic slippage, political crises or large-scale migration.

The research also found house prices do not respond much to monetary policy, such as changing base interest rates.

But Motu said while they were similar, the markets were not identical.

The study classified the 16 centres as a weak single housing market, not a strong one - meaning that while they were affected by a single price trend, they reacted to it in differing degrees.

As an example, the study said the availability of land could alter how different cities respond to higher migration.

The eight centres looked at in Australia were Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Canberra, Brisbane, Perth, Hobart, and Darwin. In New Zealand, they were Auckland, Wellington, Dunedin, Christchurch, Palmerston North, Hastings/Napier, Tauranga and Hamilton.

The study found price trends hit five Australian cities first - Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Canberra, and Brisbane.

Those trends flowed through to Perth, Hobart, Darwin, Auckland and Wellington.

The price effects later reached Dunedin, Christchurch, Palmerston North, Hastings/Napier, Tauranga and Hamilton.