He said rises and falls in median values did not mean that the values of individual homes were going up or down, as activity at the more expensive or cheaper ends of the market could push the averages in that direction.
In the case of the Mount and Papamoa, the drop in average values likely resulted from more expensive homes being sold in November than in December.
Harcourts' sales manager for the Mount and Papamoa, Nigel Martin, said some high-priced properties were unavailable in December because people were staying in them for the holidays, and it was possible that more homes were being sold in cheaper Papamoa than at the more expensive Mount. Both factors could affect median prices.
Greg Purcell, a licensee agent with Ray White in Papamoa, said the bottom end of the market "took a hammering" towards the end of last year because of new loan-to value lending rules which force banks to insist on a 40 per cent deposit from most investors.
This was one reason for greater sales at the top of the market year-on-year.
He did feel there had been some easing in the market in his area. This was partly due to an "umbilical cord" connection with the softening situation in Auckland.
"We're still getting good numbers," he said.
"But it's not like those heady, halcyon days six months ago. It's far more moderate than it was, and that's a good thing."
Tauranga real estate agents agreed that market activity resumed slightly earlier this month than was normal for January.
Last week the Bay of Plenty Times reported QV figures showing that house price averages were $672,000 for Tauranga and $571,000 for the Western Bay. Those figures were obtained by adding up the value of houses and dividing the total by the number of houses.
The REINZ figures are for the median average, which is calculated by ranking the homes from most expensive to least expensive and choosing the value of the home in the middle.
Median house sale prices
Tauranga
Dec 2016: $600,000, 121 homes sold
Nov 2016: $590,000, 163 homes sold
Dec 2015: $470,000, 208 homes sold
Mt Maunganui, Papamoa
Dec 2016: $615,000, 85 homes sold
Nov 2016: $671,250, 114 homes sold
Dec 2015: $560,000, 135 homes sold