Auckland property's hot - so what about the rest of NZ?

Dunedin is the cheapest region for first-home buyers, with an average house asking price of $311,088. Photo / Getty Images

Young Aucklanders with dreams of buying a first home are increasingly looking to other parts of New Zealand, as the average Auckland house price approaches $1 million.

Recent statistics reveal only 14 per cent of hopeful buyers believe they will own a property within two years, with a similar number extending that to 2031.

Thirty per cent of Auckland house-hunters between the ages of 18 to 34 expect to buy their own home, while 70 per cent do not see owning a home in their future.

The average asking house price in Auckland is $925,000, with many suburbs seeing that price bumped up to seven digits.

Franklin, Papakura, Manukau central, Manukau south-west and Waitakere are considered Auckland's most affordable suburbs.

According to a Barfoot & Thompson survey of 500 Aucklanders, aged between 18 to 34, 74 per cent of aspiring buyers would still consider purchasing in Auckland despite the cost, followed by Waikato (15 per cent), Bay of Plenty (13 per cent), Wellington (10 per cent) and Northland (10 per cent).

Second to Auckland for the country's most expensive region to buy a first home is the Queenstown-Lake District at around $802,634.

In Wellington City the average asking house price for a first-home buyer is just under $600,000, priced at $584,306.

If buying a house in Tauranga you could expect to pay $565,547, Christchurch - $485,014 and Hamilton - $455,966.

Dunedin is considered the most affordable region for first home buyers, expected to pay an average of $311,088 for a stand-alone property.

The survey found optimism for first home buyers decreased with age, with those 25 years and older seeing home ownership as less achievable.