Marlborough and Kaikoura residential property values are holding steady.

The Real Estate Institute New Zealand and Quotable Values figures for June, released yesterday show the values of houses sold last month increased compared with June 2011.

Figures show the average price of a house sold in Marlborough in the last three months was $324,094, showing a property value growth of 1.7 per cent based on the last 12 months.

The strong property market in Auckland and Christchurch are increasing the national averages. QV figures show nationwide house values are up 1.8 per cent over the last three months and up 4.2 per cent over the past year.

QV.co.nz research director Jonno Ingerson said although sales activity has been higher in the last few months than it has been for several years, New Zealanders remain cautious.

"Despite the number of sales being up on recent years, and values increasing, we are not experiencing a boom ... over the past year values have increased only one third as quickly as they did in the boom years from 2003 to 2007.

REINZ figures showed the median house price in Marlborough/Kaikoura was $288,500 in June, down 12 per cent from $302,500 last month, but up 5.9 per cent compared with the same time last year. Chief executive Helen O'Sullivan said June is traditionally a slower month than May, and a drop in month-by-month sales was to be expected. Buyers and sellers had lost confidence during the global financial crises and the current market is still recovering.

Seventy-eight residential properties sold in June, down 9.5 per cent compared with May, but up 15.2 per cent on June 2011 when 66 houses sold.

The median days to sell in Marlborough/Kaikoura took a turn for the worse in June by increasing to 97 days up from 49 in May and 53 days compared to the same time last year. The national average was 37 days, which was an improvement by seven days compared to June 2011.

- The Marlborough Express

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