House prices in Hawke's Bay are up $45,000 over the past year, as the region scores a "three-peat" of record all-time highs.
Data from the Real Estate Institute show the region's median house last month rose to $445,000 - the third time in three months that the region's house prices have hit an all-time high, REINZ chief executive Bindi Norwell said.
"This increase has been driven by a high level of demand across the region which is driving prices up particularly in the Nelson Park Ward in Napier (+27.7 per cent), Ruataniwha Ward in Central Hawke's Bay (+25.8 per cent) and Heretaunga Ward in Hastings (+24.7 per cent)."
Read more: Third successive record house price for Hawke's Bay
Housing shortage pushes regional rents to record highs
$25m of new Hawke's Bay houses approved in a month
Although the price was just $1000 higher than the previous month, local real estate agents do not see any signs that the market is slowing down just yet.
"Obviously from month to month, number can be quite inconsistent, based on volumes of sales month to month," Tremains managing director Simon Tremain said.
"So, the really good thing was to see the median price hold its position. It's a slight increase but it's still another record and there are still a lot of buyers in the marketplace. The momentum of the market and the upward drive of the market won't slow down with so many buyers around."
Barring anything from "out of left-field" the market should continue to rise, he said.
Areas like Havelock North, Napier Hill Ahuriri and Taradale were competing well for high prices but there was a lot of action right across the region.
"There's a good range of sales right trough the Bay, Hastings, Flaxmere, Napier and Taradale with good volumes and good growth right through Hawke's Bay."
Napier remained the most expensive part of the region, with a median house price of $486,000 - $53,500 more than the median price in Hastings. Central Hawke's Bay had a median price of $283,000, while Wairoa was the cheapest at $140,000.
Median prices for New Zealand excluding Auckland increased by 6.2 per cent year-on-year to a record high of $460,000 - just $15,000 higher than Hawke's Bay.
"Hawke's Bay is as strong as anywhere in the country right now", Property Brokers regional manager Paul Whitaker said.
"When people have money in their pocket and decide to look around are seeing that Hawke's Bay is a good destination to settle, so it's still putting pressure of the local market.
"We've just sold a lifestyle property under the hammer today for $900,000 and we had four buyers all within $20,000 of the sale price. We're seeing the same on investment properties and we are in properties in the $1 million price range - so it's all across the board."
The length of days it took to sell properties was also very short, he said.
"We're definitely seeing that trend continue as well, properties are getting snapped up quickly."
Bayleys regional operations manager Kerry Geange said although median prices in Auckland had pulled back (2.2 per cent down), agents were still seeing "plenty of activity", which directly translated to what was seen here.
"There's especially strong enquiry at the top end of the market in Hawke's Bay, and a lot of activity down into CHB.
Buyers were a mix of locals and out-of-towners.
"We are getting a lot of success through buyers from our Auckland and Wellington reach - both retirees and families looking to capitalise on prices in metropolitan areas and relocating into the regions.
"We are also starting to see some positive movement back into the rural sector, which is really encouraging for Hawke's Bay."