Tuffley said that while nationwide house price expectations have decreased slightly over the past quarter, there was a continued improvement in price expectations in Christchurch.
A net 43 per cent of those surveyed in Christchurch expect house prices will rise, compared to just over a net third of respondents in Auckland and net 22 per cent across New Zealand.
This suggested underlying housing demand in the Canterbury region was recovering from the impacts of the earthquakes, Tuffley said.
The bank expected Government and insurance payouts to support a continued recovery in house sales in the region.
On the flip side, the perceptions of the current market in Christchurch were negative.
"A negative six per cent of respondents in Christchurch thought now was a good time to buy a house compared to a positive net 24 per cent across New Zealand as a whole, reflecting the issues still faced by the region," Tuffley said.
Nationally, while there was an increase in the number of respondents who expect interest rates will increase over the next year, a monthly breakdown of the results indicate this largely reflects high interest rate expectations early in the survey period.
A net 57 per cent of respondents now expect interest rates to rise, up from a net 46 per cent in the July quarter, Tuffley said.
"However, there was a steady decline in interest rate expectations over the quarter, reflecting the deterioration in global market conditions over this period."
Recent market data continued to point to a gradual pick-up in underlying housing demand.
Tuffley said the housing market still looked to be constrained by supply, with new house listings continuing to decline. "The Auckland housing market is particularly tight, which is underpinning stronger house price growth in the region," he said.
