Anton Jones of First National Tauranga said those suburbs had seen large gains mainly because they started out lower.
It did not surprise him to see those areas growing in popularity, and said his team had seen some good sales in the Gate Pa area recently.
He put the 0.6 per cent dip in the market over the past three months mainly down to the weather. Buyers could be reluctant to look at houses in the rain and sellers wanted to wait until the gardens and lawns looked nice.
"As soon as the sun came out and people got a bit of vitamin D and it was all hot to trot again."
Simon Anderson, chief executive of Realty Services, said his teams were seeing more properties up for sale in that lower end of the market, especially in the last two weeks.
The Eves auction rooms had twice as many auctions scheduled for November as over the winter months.
He put that trend down to the normal spring lift, which was just arriving a bit late this year due to the extended winter.
Anderson said all signs pointed to the market returning to "normal" after two years of huge sales volumes in 2015 and 2016.
The QV report showed Tauranga's market had dropped 0.6 per cent over the past three months, but was up 5.4 per cent year on year, and 42.7 per cent on the last peak in 2007.
The average house value was $687,241.
Quotable Value report
Tauranga property values
- Down 0.6 per cent over past three months
- Up 5.4 per cent year on year
- Up 42.7 per cent on previous market peak in 2007
- $687,241 average Tauranga house value
Western Bay property values
- Up 0.4 per cent over past three months
- Up 6.9 per cent year on year
- Up 36.5 per cent on previous market peak in 2007
- $614,822 average Tauranga house value
National property values
- Up 1.1 per cent over past three months
- Up 4.3 per cent year on year
- Up 56 per cent on previous market peak in 2007
- $646,378 average New Zealand house value
Retirees swap beach living for city fringe amenities
A month ago Linda and Bruce Malins moved from Papamoa into a tidy home right on the border between Greerton and Gate Pa.
The city move was a big change for the retirees, whose past three homes had all been near the beach - one in Papamoa and two in Coastlands, Whakatane.
The couple, who between them have six children and a bushel of grandchildren, had just begun to think about moving somewhere closer to amenities within the next decade when they would be in their 80s, when the Greerton Rd house came on the market.
It only took one viewing to seal the deal. Built in 2004, the three-bedroom, 1.5 bathroom brick-and-tile with a double garage had new carpet, no lawn, a charming conservatory and was in good nick.
Better still, it was just steps away from Greerton Village with its nice eateries, library, doctors, dentists, gym and bus stops with routes that could take them anywhere they wanted to go.
They went for a walk and cuppa in the village and were blown away by how friendly people were.
"I felt like I was being welcomed," she said.
They paid $560, 000, which they thought was a good price to be so close to everything the needed, packed up their Papamoa house and made the move with their dog Scruff and cat Millie.
