PHOTO: Capital Crash? Wellington Property Prices Plunge Again — Now 26% Below Their Peak. FILE


🚨 Another Quarter, Another Drop — Is Wellington in Freefall?

In a trend that’s starting to look less like a correction and more like a housing crash, Wellington’s property values have fallen another 2.3% in Q2 — dragging the city’s average value down a staggering 26.1% from its peak in late 2021.

Yes, you read that right. Over a quarter of Wellington’s house value has evaporated in just three and a half years.

From Karori to Kilbirnie, Newtown to Ngaio — nowhere is immune.


🏚️ What Does This Mean for Homeowners?

For thousands of Wellingtonians who bought in the 2020–2021 frenzy, it’s grim news:

  • 📉 Equity wiped out

  • 💸 Refinance struggles as home values drop below mortgage balances

  • 🛑 First-home buyers facing instant negative equity

  • 🏦 Investors underwater and bailing fast

And with rates still high and the job market softening, there’s no obvious floor yet.


🏙️ Why Wellington Is Getting Hit So Hard

Wellington’s market boom was one of the steepest during the pandemic — but it’s now proving to be one of the most fragile. The reasons?

  • 🧱 High-density building approval surge = oversupply

  • 🏦 Investor exit after tax changes and CCCFA tightening

  • 💼 CBD woes as remote work devastates commercial zones

  • 🌧️ Constant weather and infrastructure problems turning buyers off

Combine that with rising insurance premiums and deteriorating confidence, and the capital’s once-hot housing market is now New Zealand’s biggest red flag.


🔮 What Comes Next?

Experts warn the pain might not be over.

  • Interest rate cuts are being delayed, keeping pressure on borrowing

  • Waka Kotahi’s roading delays and council dysfunction add more uncertainty

  • Rents are rising — but not fast enough to offset capital losses

  • Job cuts in public service continue to rattle confidence

Some suburbs have now returned to pre-2019 prices, and buyer sentiment is near record lows.


🧨 Capital in Crisis?

The data is in. Wellington is no longer a “wait and see” story — it’s become a national warning about what happens when inflated markets, shaky infrastructure, and political apathy collide.

The capital city of New Zealand has become the capital of housing pain.

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