💬 The question I keep getting asked right now
A question I keep getting asked at the moment is: "How is all of this — the Iran War, fuel prices — actually affecting the property market here?"
The honest answer is that it’s creating hesitation more than anything else. A ‘fear of overpaying’ has crept into some buyer conversations that wasn’t really there six months ago. And that makes sense — when petrol has risen around 35% since January, people feel it every time they fill up, and big financial decisions start to feel riskier.
It’s not showing up in the stats yet. Prices are holding, days to sell are steady, and search activity is actually up across all three districts. What I’m describing is more what I’m experiencing at the coalface — the conversations at open homes, the questions buyers and sellers are asking.
But here’s what I keep coming back to: most people don’t move because the conditions are perfect. They move because life calls for it. A growing family that’s outgrown the house. A job in another city. A change of pace, a new chapter, a relationship that’s changed things. Those reasons don’t pause for world events — and they don’t wait for the market to feel comfortable.
The people who need to move are moving. And the ones who stay engaged through uncertain patches are usually the ones who come out ahead on the other side.
🔍 Market snapshot – March 2026
Here’s how the numbers landed across the region this month.
📍 Christchurch City
🏷️ Median sale price: $710K (+1.4% vs last year)
🔍 Search activity: 1.40M (+9% vs last year)
🏠 New listings: 1,134 (+5% vs last year)
⏱️ Median days to sell: 37
📍 Selwyn District
🏷️ Median sale price: $810K (+1.2% vs last year)
🔍 Search activity: 320K (+9% vs last year)
🏠 New listings: 391 (+12% vs last year)
⏱️ Median days to sell: 36
📍 Waimakariri District
🏷️ Median sale price: $715K (-0.6% vs last year)
🔍 Search activity: 286K (+5% vs last year)
🏠 New listings: 232 (-9% vs last year)
⏱️ Median days to sell: 36
REINZ Property Report & Trademe Onehub Statistics
🎉 Dan Pengelly heading to the Australasian Champs
A huge congratulations to our auctioneer (and my partner) Dan, who’s made the finals of the Premier Division at the REINZ Auction Championships in Auckland — and is now off to Melbourne next month to represent New Zealand at the Australasian Championships. This is a huge achievement for someone who just entered the auction arena four years ago!
Watch his auction call here — jump to the 36-minute mark. It’s worth a watch.
🏛️ Open Christchurch Festival — 1–3 May
Free, one weekend only, and worth your time. Open Christchurch unlocks some of the city's most interesting buildings to the public — spaces you'd normally walk straight past. There's also a programme of activities if you want to go deeper. Good design is all around us; this is your chance to actually notice it. Details and building map at openchristchurch.org.nz.
🏟️ Te Kaha opens this weekend
Progress on this stadium has been genuinely impressive to watch and there’s been so much chatter about it over the past year. We’re finally there!
I’ll be heading along to the Community Open Day on 2 May (10am–4pm) to check out the space and the food vendors — well worth a visit if rugby and Six60 aren’t really your thing.
🤔 Selling soon?
If anything here has you thinking about your own situation, I’m always happy to have that conversation.
— Caleb, Jonathan, Allanah and Jack
