Ashburton’s housing market is heating up more than the rest of the country, according to quarterly economic data provided to Council by Infometrics.

House values rose 4.2% in the September quarter, compared to just 0.2% nationally.

The number of houses sold in Ashburton rose 28%, enabled by a 35% increase in new listings, and potentially supported by population growth of 1% over the past year. New dwelling consents eased 5.8% in the year to September, but remain at a relatively strong level, with 65 consented in the quarter.

Group Manager of Compliance and Development Ian Hyde said the housing data was amongst the positive information contained in the latest report, which was now available on Council’s website.

“The economic data tells a really positive story, and we can see that business and investment activity is strong too. Our economy grew by 0.9%, compared to 0.4% for Canterbury and -0.5% for New Zealand as a whole.”

“We’re doing well, thanks to our strong agricultural and dairy sector.”

The economic data measures Gross Domestic Product, the number of businesses and consumer spending, as well as building consents, traffic flow, guest nights and vehicle registrations.

“We also see that the unemployment rate for the district was 3.8%, just up from the previous 12 months, but lower than in New Zealand overall, which was 5.2%,” Mr Hyde said.

The Infometrics Quarterly Economic Monitor is available on Council's website.