"The beachside suburb of Papamoa is continuing to show particularly high growth," Mr Hume said.
"There have been a number of section sales in the Coast development there sold in the $280,000 to $360,000 price range, and the developer reports that 90 per cent of sales were to out-of-town buyers, in particular Aucklanders."
Mr Hume said Welcome Bay was also expected to see good growth in the coming years with the recent start of construction on the Maungatapu underpass, expected to be finished in 2018.
"We are also starting to see evidence of profit taking with a number of properties being turned over in quick succession as investors look to make quick capital gains in a very buoyant market," Mr Hume said.
Mount Maunganui and Papamoa Ray White Realty Focus franchise owner Greg Purcell said the figures were "utterly reflective of the year".
"There's no doubt that's been spearheaded by the movement from Auckland," he said.
When buyers moved from a market like Auckland they were able and more willing to spend more on a property, pushing up the prices, he said.
"Locals, I think, on the one hand are enjoying the rising values of their homes but on the other hand they're not liking the competition once they become buyers."
With property stories dominating the media, however, some vendors' expectations were getting ahead of the market, he said.
"It creates a new set of problems. We're presenting an offer to people that six months ago they would've thanked us for ... Some people think it's worth more than that.
"I think expectation has travelled in the past six months."
Tauranga Harcourts general manager Nigel Martin believed the average price was being pushed up by a combination of low interest rates and strong demand.
"With the lower interest rate people can spend more ... People say 'oh I can do better now' and might decide to spend an extra $40,000."
While the interest rate had been coming down for a while, it also took a while to show its effect, Mr Martin said.
It was good news for buyers because they could borrow more.
Ross Stanway, chief executive of Eves and Bayleys Real Estate, said it was no surprise that the increase in average values had hit double figures.
"With the level of interest, double figures was going to happen. Most buyers can still see the value in the Mount and Tauranga market," Mr Stanway said.
The increase was a result of people seeing the Bay of Plenty as a desirable area to live.
House hunters' fast actions pay off
Mollie Fitzgibbon and her partner Duncan Walker bought their four-bedroom home in Papamoa in March.
"We wanted to buy in the Mount but it was far too expensive," Miss Fitzgibbon said.
Already the market was racing along and the 1980s house they bought was only advertised for one day.
Mr Walker contacted the realtor that morning to find, within hours of being listed, it was already under contract.
They arranged a walk-through at lunchtime the same day and made a back-up offer.
"We had to make decisions quickly because we didn't want to miss out," Miss Fitzgibbon said. "Everything was quickly moving and you had to be on your toes ... It was a high-pressure situation."
Fortunately for them the first offer fell through and they moved in two months later.
One of their non-negotiables was having a section and they found that with their Papamoa property.
"The house is plonked right in the middle of the section so it's not subdividable," she said.
It was their second property, after they bought their former rental in Mount Maunganui in late 2013.
In the 16 months between buys, Miss Fitzgibbon said they saw the prices and competition increase a lot.
She said they were glad they had got into the market when they did. "At the time I thought, 'oh my gosh, it's too much' but had we waited we would've paid a lot more for it."
