The Median house price in Canterbury is up 3.4% on this time last year according to new data released by the Real Estate Institute.

 However, sales are down by 43.7 percent.

 The median house price for Christchurch city is $477,500.

Hurunui District sits at $385,000, Selwyn District – $560,000, and Waimakariri District is $452,000.

REINZ CEO Bindi Norwell says Canterbury was one of three regions to see an uplift in the monthly HPI showing good underlying value across the region, despite the impact of COVID-19.

 She says with new listings down 4.4% and sales volumes down 43.7% compared to this time last year, there is a real lack of listings available to meet demand.

 “Additionally, there is a new batch of buyers and investors who have emerged post-lockdown who are attracted to the low interest rates and lifted LVRs.”

 However, she says there is cautious optimism locally with minimal job losses, but people are worried about what may come in the coming months.

 “Overall, the market is busy likely a result of the bottleneck from lockdown.”

 “If local job losses are kept to a minimum and we stay in the low alert levels, there should be continued momentum in the market Compared to May 2019.”