Three suburbs in the Bay of Plenty are in New Zealand’s 100 “hottest” suburbs, rating highly for price growth, employment and amenities, a OneRoof report released today says.

Mount Maunganui, Mangakakahi in Rotorua, and Ōpōtiki in the Eastern Bay of Plenty made the list, which pinpoints the 100 suburbs that offer the best value to buyers and hold the best long-term growth prospects for owners, OneRoof editor Owen Vaughan says.

Mangakakahi, ranked 57, had an average property value of $512,000 and scored highly on turnover, affordability and development land.

Mount Maunganui, ranked 76, had an average property value of $1,488,000 and scored highly on amenities, employment, development land and population growth.

Ōpōtiki, ranked 97, had an average property value of $456,000 and scored highly on affordability and population growth.

Almost a quarter of the “hot” 100 suburbs were in Auckland, including East Tamaki at No 1. Canterbury claimed the next biggest share, with 18 suburbs on the list.

The list was inspired by similar housing market analyses carried out by Australia’s real estate portals. OneRoof wanted to identify the suburbs with the greatest potential to reward buyers in years to come.

The analysis comes as new house price figures from OneRoof show the housing market is still under pressure.

Nationwide, the average property dropped 0.7% to $957,000 in the three months to the end of October.

In the Bay of Plenty, the average property value was $944,000 – a 1.4% drop.

Cuts to the Official Cash Rate and falling mortgage rates were already having an impact on buyer activity. Since the first OCR cut in August, inquiries on OneRoof had risen almost 20%, while agents had noted more people at open homes and increased bidding at auctions, the statement said.

‘Invaluable’ for buyers

Vaughan said buyers needed to do their research to understand what drove a local market and how it was likely to evolve.

“OneRoof’s Hot 100 list is an invaluable aid for those unsure about the market.

“We all want to buy at an affordable price and to live in a suburb that’s on the rise.

“And while prices have softened after 2023′s mini post-slump surge, there are locations around the country that are primed for growth when the market picks up.”

OneRoof editor Owen Vaughan. Photo / Fiona Goodall

Valocity senior research analyst Wayne Shum said the list was for most Kiwis, not the top 10% of earners.

He said the key message was that people should reassess the more affordable suburbs on the list because, while they might not be top of mind, they had the most potential.

Shum said the team started with suburbs with 500 or more residential and lifestyle properties and assigned scores based on various criteria, including a heavy emphasis on affordability, resilience during the recent downturn, the number of building and renovation consents issued in recent years, mortgage data, amenities, employment proximity and property price and population growth.

‘Reasonably bulletproof’

Ray White Pāpāmoa director Greg Purcell agreed with the “iconic” Mount Maunganui being on the list.

He said land values were high and there were only “a handful” of places in New Zealand “that you would call destinations”.

“Queenstown’s an obvious example, I would say Ōhope Beach ... certainly Mount Maunganui.”

He described Mount Maunganui as “reasonably bulletproof” because there was limited land.

“You can’t make more Mount Maunganui ... it is desirable.”

Purcell said investors were starting to return to the market because interest rates had dropped. People were also signalling there could be another drop in the OCR of 50 to 75 basis points in November.

“If you’re looking at returns and yields on investment property, you’re probably going to be looking at places like Ōpōtiki, right?

“Although you get good capital gains around here, the yield’s quite low because of what you have to pay.”

First National real estate agent Andrea Fenton said 80% of her listings and sales were in Mangakakahi.

In her view, the Rotorua suburb was a “good stepping stone” for first-home buyers.

“And it doesn’t have a bad stigma, I guess, as some of the other suburbs nearby anyway.”

Properties in Mangakakahi were attractive and it had a “lovely family feel”, which she attributed to lots of schools and community events.

“It’s a real active community.”

Rotorua as a whole was a good place, she said.

“Lately we’ve had lots of investors travelling from out of town to come and look for investment properties.”

-Bay of Plenty Times.