Graham Cameron has been living in Parkvale for the past 10 years after a move to the Bay from Wellington.
The family looked around at different suburbs but liked the layout of Parkvale and the services it had to offer, such as the community centre, butcher and an op shop.
Initially, the family was looking to rent but found it hard to find one in the area and started to look at buying, he said.
"We found our current house, at that stage we couldn't afford it, but we rang back a couple of months later and the previous owner had dropped the price by $20,000."
Mr Graham said he loves living in the area.
"It has a lot of green space around it, everything is within walking distance, Fraser Cove is just down the road.
"Merivale shops are really accessible and cater to the local community.
"Fences aren't quite as high in Merivale as they are in other suburbs in Tauranga. Our kids get to know the neighbours and the neighbours' kids.
"Life is lived out on the front yard rather than in the house and the back yard."
Harcourts managing director Nigel Martin said they had seen quite a bit of activity within Te Puke.
"People are seeing Te Puke is good value for buying, it is where the more affordable homes in the Bay are. You get a larger site for what you are paying for, it is still closer to places like Papamoa and at the end of the day it is still reasonably close to the beach too, compared to places like Pyes Pa and Ohauiti."
Mr Martin said Parkvale was an entry level area for home buyers and investors.
"You will often see the investors in those suburbs purely because their return on their investment is higher than where they would be if they went to a more expensive suburb."
Ross Stanway, chief executive if Eves and Bayleys Realty Focus, said demand for properties in areas such as Te Puke and Parkvale would grow.
"They almost take on a new lease of life, people do see them as affordable and people show interest and away things go.
"Most suburbs go through some kind of evolution at one stage or another."
QV property valuer Paul Thomas said many people were looking at Te Puke as a first-home option because of the lower prices there. They were also eyeing up Paengaroa, as the new Tauranga Eastern Link had made the area more appealing.
He said affordability often came down to the size and age of the houses.
Tauranga's most expensive suburb at the end of July was Mount Maunganui, according to QV. An average home there was estimated at $577,850.
Mr Thomas said even the Bay's expensive suburbs were good value compared with Auckland.
"We are seeing a lot of Aucklanders investing in Tauranga now."
Western Bay of Plenty's most highly valued houses were at Waihi Beach, with an average of $565,000.
