Canterbury Property Market - February Update
We are now well into the second month of the year. While summer has brought more rain than sunshine across the country, the local property market is showing plenty of life. Despite this, local real estate agents report good turnout at open homes across the Canterbury region and overall, a positive outlook for the months ahead.
Who’s in the market right now?
All buyer groups were active in the market throughout the month of January, which suggests that buyers are feeling optimistic about the current market conditions.
Most vendors continued to price their properties realistically; however, there were a few who expected that the market would lift a little quicker than it has and priced slightly too high to meet the market. Overall, January showed a good price alignment between buyers and sellers.
Attendance at open homes remained strong, which shows a good feeling around the market for this coming year. New listings continued to attract the most interest, with numbers through the open homes increasing. Auction rooms were very quiet during the month, with most auction campaigns kicking off from February.
Canterbury sales statistics
The median house price in the Canterbury region for November sits at $700,000. This is down 2.9% (from $721,000) in December and up 3.4% (from $677,000) compared with January 2025.
In Christchurch City, the median house price has dropped to $699,000 - down 3.6% (from $725,000) in December and up 7.5% (from $650,000) compared with January 2025.
Below are the median house prices for each district in January 2026 compared with January 2025. It’s important to remember that due to low turnover in some regions, data may be limited or skewed depending on the properties sold.
Ashburton District – median house price sits at $645,000, up 7.5% on this time last year and a new record high.
Hurunui District – median house price sits at $670,000, up 8.8% on this time last year.
Kaikōura District – median house price sits at $700,000, down 6% on this time last year.
Mackenzie District – median house price sits at $775,000, up 15.7% on this time last year.
Selwyn District – median house price sits at $783,000, up 0.4% on this time last year.
Timaru District – median house price sits at $515,000, down 2.6% on this time last year.
Waimakariri District – median house price sits at $770,000, up 4.8% on this time last year and a new record high.
Waimate District – median house price sits at $610,000, up 46.1% on this time last year and a new record high.
Regional sales info
Across the Canterbury region, a total of 670 properties were sold in January 2026. This is down compared to December 2025 due to the holiday period, with fewer properties listed and fewer open homes. This total is nearly half of the 1,235 properties sold in December and is still slightly down compared to the 733 sold in January 2025.
Of these sales, 389 were in Christchurch City. This is also slightly lower than this time last year, with 432 sales.
The average Canterbury property took 50 days to sell in January, which is the same as this time last year, and again, overall longer due to the holiday period.
Overall, the market remains steady as it has for the past year or so now. Local real estate agents are predicting some increased interest and activity in February and March before we start to head towards the cooler months yet again. As we’ve mentioned before, it’s unlikely the market will take off this year, and we expect it to remain steady with small bursts here and there.
With interest rates and house prices remaining low, lots of properties to choose from and motivated vendors, it’s definitely a buyer's market. If you want to make your move into a new home this year, then get in touch, and we can help you make it easier and quicker to secure your new property. Our team are based in Christchurch and South Canterbury and are able to advise you on not only NZ market conditions, but local market conditions too.
Get in touch for your no-obligation chat with our mortgage advisers today.
Source: REINZ