NZ Million-Dollar Suburbs Expand Beyond Major Cities
New Zealand's million-dollar suburbs have spread beyond Auckland and Wellington for the first time. According to Ray White Group analysis, Christchurch has grown to 15 such suburbs, while smaller markets like Central Otago and Bay of Plenty held their ground during the recent downturn.
Ray White economist Atom Go Tian noted that these markets reflect a lasting shift in the country's geography of wealth, rather than a temporary effect of the boom. The pandemic pushed million-dollar suburbs into almost every region, but many pulled back after the downturn.
Auckland remains the country's largest concentration of million-dollar suburbs, but its count has slipped from 183 to 135 since the peak. Meanwhile, Christchurch added 15 million-dollar suburbs by 2022 and continued to climb.
Ray White found that if recent growth rates hold, Cromwell in Central Otago would cross $1 million within six months, followed closely by Aidanfield in Christchurch and Matua in Tauranga. Another group of suburbs sits one to two years behind on the same trajectory.