Canterbury regional property market insights

The average property price in Canterbury/Waitaha in December 2024 was $712,300, according to our most recent Property Price Index. This marked a 0.8% decrease in the cost of buying a home in Canterbury compared to November 2024, but a 0.7% increase compared to December 2023.

The overall number of Canterbury properties available for sale on Trade Me Property in December 2024 was 5,122, this was down from 5,062 in November but up from 4,133 in December 2023.

Our latest Rental Price Index showed Canterbury rents at $565 in December 2024, down slightly from $570 in November. The regional average was down by 0.9% both month-on-month and year-year. The average cost of renting a home in Christchurch City/Ōtautahi was slightly lower than the regional average, at $550.

In December, there were a total of 2,462 rental properties available in Canterbury on Trade Me Property. This was down from November, when 2,722 rental listings were advertised, but still considerably higher than December 2023, when there were 1,758 Canterbury rental homes on Trade Me Property.

Among people surveyed in our 2024 Property Pulse survey* who were seeking to buy a home in the Canterbury region:

17% were currently in the process of buying a home.

15% were just thinking about buying a property.

19.7% were looking to buy a property in the next year.

15.9% were looking to buy a property in the next 1-2 years.

Of the respondents who’d ideally buy a property in the Canterbury region, 45.4% agreed that now is a good time to buy a property in Canterbury. By percentage, would-be buyers in the Canterbury region say they would be most willing to compromise on either the size of the section/land or the size of the garden/outdoor space in order to stay within their buying budget, compared to a range of four other specific options including size of the property, property condition and type of property.

Interested in how quickly homes change hands in Canterbury? Of the respondents looking to sell a home in the Canterbury region:

• 17.6% had owned their current home for more than five years.
• 18.7% had owned their current home for 3-5 years.
• 19.5% had owned their current home for 1-2 years.
• 30% had owned their current home for 6-12 months.
• 4.5% had lived in their current home for less than 6 months.

Of respondents looking to sell a home in the Canterbury region:

• 18.7% were currently in the process of selling a property.
• 16.8% were just thinking about selling a property.
• 20.3% were looking to sell a property in the next year.
• 13.9% were looking to sell a property in the next 1-2 years.

Within its approximately 45,346 square kilometres, Canterbury/Waitaha contains some of Aotearoa’s greatest natural and cultural wonders. Think of the towering peak of Aoraki/Mt. Cook, the dolphins and whales that make their home in the wildlife haven of Kaikōura and the other-wordly turquoise waters and glittering stars of Lake Tekapo.

The region also contains the secondest largest urban centre in Aotearoa, Christchurch/Ōtautahi, which provides substantial job opportunities for its residents. According to the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment Canterbury represented 13% of New Zealand's total employment in 2022. Of these, 50,835 jobs, or 14.6%, were self-employed. The sectors with the highest employment contributions in Canterbury in 2022, according to MBIE, were:

• Construction (11.3%)
• Health Care and Social Assistance (11%)
• Manufacturing (10.6%)
• Retail Trade (9.4%)

As well as Christchurch City/Ōtautahi, Canterbury also incorporates the following districts:

• Ashburton

• Banks Peninsula

• Hurunui

• Mackenzie

• Selwyn 

• Timaru

• Waimakariri

• Waimate

In 2023, 12.8% of the population (around 666,300) of Aotearoa lived in Canterbury, according to Statistics New Zealand, with the number of residents growing by 0.7% in that year, above the national average growth rate (according to MBIE). This gives the region a population density of approximately 15 people per 15 km².

*Data from Trade Me Property Pulse Survey 2024. 1,572 total responses, 342 responses from the Canterbury Region.