House prices up by $40,000

House prices are up in the Bay of Plenty.

The median sale price in Papamoa and Mount Maunganui has jumped by $40,000 over the past year as buyers target more expensive homes.

The latest Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) figures show the median Tauranga house price rose $17,500 in the past year to $347,000 and Mount Maunganui and Papamoa house prices hit $430,000 - $40,000 more than the year before.

The news comes just a day after the Bay of Plenty Times reported that demand for sections in Tauranga was running hot, with one developer selling 25 lots last month within 27 minutes of releasing them.

Close to 115 houses sold in Tauranga during the month, compared to 111 in August last year.

Sales in Papamoa and Mount Maunganui rose from 75 in August last year to 81 in the same period in 2013.

Ray White Papamoa/Mount Maunganui principal Greg Purcell said the market was recovering from a "big deep breath" over winter.

"We've seen more multi-offers from people wanting to buy the same house than we've seen in the previous four years.

"People have gone beyond what they thought they were going to pay in order to secure what they wanted because other people were vying for the same thing."

The upwards nudge was not surprising given the lack of available homes over the winter months, Mr Purcell said. "There's been a lot of buyer interest and we're starting to list homes strongly again, but there was a dearth of them for a long time."

June to August this year had been worse than previous years, but that was set to improve.

"I think we're in for an old-fashioned spring where the listings are going to come in and the sales will follow suit."

Tauranga Harcourts franchise owner Max Martin and Ross Stanway, chief executive of Realty Services which runs Bayleys and Eves, said more homes valued at more than $500,000 were selling and this had pushed the median sale price up.

"House price increases have actually been in single figures [in the Bay] and have been for some time ... in contrast to what is happening in Auckland and Christchurch," Mr Stanway said.

However, there had been a considerable increase in the volume of sales, especially for land and building packages, he said.

National house prices continued to rise as pending limits on low equity home loans put pressure on the market.

According to latest REINZ figures, the national median sale price rose $5000 to $390,000 in August, up 5.5 per cent from the same month in 2012.

"Agents report across the country that potential sellers are taking a 'wait and see' attitude in terms of rising prices and what effect the Reserve Bank's new lending policy will have on the market," REINZ chief executive Helen O'Sullivan said.

"This uncertainty in the short term is exacerbating the problem of supply, although there should be a traditional lift in properties for sale as spring takes hold."