Reporter Michele Hunter reported on the new trend in the Bay of Plenty Times Weekend.
Real estate agents are now seeing more people considering do-ups for one reason or another.
For some it is all they can afford, for others it is the location or price that attracts them.
For us it is an attempt to get on the property ladder and buy our first home.
We're willing to put the time and effort in to do up the house ourselves as much as possible, but so, it seems, are many others.
A large number of those at the auctions appeared to be in the same situation as us - young couples with the skills and motivation to get stuck in and fix up the places themselves.
Both the auctions we have been to have seen at least a dozen people competing for the same house we were interested in, while other properties, which needed no work, had few or no bids and struggled to reach the reserve.
One agent we were speaking to confirmed our suspicion that the market had markedly changed in the last few months. More people were now looking to speculate on property by buying places that needed to be renovated as confidence in the market and the local economy improved, while only a few months ago the demand was for properties that needed no work, he said.
There is a fine line between being willing to pay enough to be competitive at an auction and going overboard in your determination to win.
It is particularly difficult with do-ups, taking into account the cost of renovation and how much it will be worth to a future buyer.
It's great to see the Tauranga economy going ahead but it makes for a tricky market for first-home buyers.
