Red hot Redwood | Canterbury News | Local News in Canterbury

Redwood has become one of the most desirable places to live in the country, making the list of top 10 suburbs to live in by property value growth.

The northern suburb came in at number seven on the list from Quotable Value New Zealand, which revealed the best and worst suburbs to live in around New Zealand. The median sale price in Redwood was $342,222, up 5.8 per cent on last year.

Redwood woman Kelly Joyce recently sold her Dunbarton St property, and was pleased with the results. The rateable value for the three bedroom house was $376,000 and Miss Joyce said she got well above that.

"We got a lot of inquiries but I wouldn't say we were rushed off our feet. We had the property under offer within two weeks which was quite quick considering we did a private sale. I just thought we would have had more people looking through. But you don't need a lot of buyers, just the right one."

Miss Joyce decided to sell the property as it seemed the market was currently in a good place.

"We'd had it for quite a while and decided it was the right time, especially with so many people needing homes and Redwood being largely unaffected by the earthquakes."

Harcourts property consultant Alister Anderson said the $300,000 to $400,000 bracket in Redwood was booming, with some houses sold within day of appearing on the market.

"It's fair to say there's a very good increase in levels of inquiry which in many cases has meant multiple offers at the contract stage of negotiations and a lift in sales prices over the asking price." He said there were many red zone buyers interested in properties in Redwood, as well as the usual number of first and second home buyers.

"It's a great family location. It's also very well serviced with plenty of shopping and good access out of the city, so it is popular."

But, Mr Anderson warned potential sellers not to let the property value growth go to their heads. "You have to be careful."

Redwood is red hot

Kelly Joyce sold this Redwood home for well over the rateable value of $376,000. "Sometimes it can make customers think that they can get $30,000 to $40,000 more than what they're asking for, but that's not always the case.

"What it really comes down to is that there are more buyers so your house will get sold more quickly and with less hassle."

Redwood Residents Association chairman Tim Heaver said it was excellent news that Redwood was such a desirable place to live.

"The numbers speak for themselves.

"It's a great friendly suburb to live in and it's close to lots of amenities.

"The Graham Condon centre is about to open in the area too."

He thought the fact the suburb had suffered little earthquake damage made it a good area to move to. "We're built on good solid farmland. We haven't had anything much apart from a little bit of liquefaction."

Beckenham also made the list, coming 10th with the median sale price of $401,944 - up 5.6 per cent from last year.