WELLINGTON, Feb 9 (Reuters) - New Zealand's residential property price index rose 12.6 percent on the year in January, government property valuer Quotable Value (QV) said on Tuesday.
The valuer said the index was now 34.2 percent above the market's previous peak in late 2007.
In December, property values rose 14.2 percent. House prices in the Auckland region were 19.8 percent higher in the year to January and were now 70 percent higher than the previous peak in 2007.
The nationwide average house value was NZ$556,206 ($367,707.79), QV said. ($1 = 1.5126 New Zealand dollars)
