Property market stays steady

The Tauranga property market has been steady through the first quarter of the year, new figures show.

First-quarter figures from QV show property values since December are up 1.3 per cent in Tauranga, despite the market being down 6.1 per cent in the wider Western Bay.

Average sales prices for properties sold in the three-month period in Tauranga were $391,568. Only Auckland, Wellington and Queenstown recorded higher average sales prices.

But Greg Purcell, franchise owner of Ray White in Mount Maunganui and Papamoa, said the positive figures may read better than the market suggests.

"I'd approach that with a bit of caution because there was what we'd call 'heavy metal' stuff. You get a few large sales and it throws it all out. I'd be surprised if, on closer examination, that didn't reveal some bigger sales," he said.

Mr Purcell said the quarter had seen a number of high-end properties sold at the Mount, which may have lifted the figures. Properties in the low- to mid-range had remained average.

And while the Auckland market had boomed recently to exceed pre-2007 peak levels, the Tauranga market remained 11.1 per cent below those 2007 levels.

A similar boom in Tauranga was not expected to filter down from Auckland. "It's not really the case [here]. It's just steady-eddy stuff," Mr Purcell said.

Shayne Donovan-Grammer, Tauranga QV valuer, said Tauranga market growth was moderate.

"I'd say it's neutral. There's some good signs in the market, but they're too little to get too excited.

"At least it's not going backwards. I wouldn't say it's gang-busters. It's just a nice steady increase, but not enough to say it's a trend," he said.

Mr Donovan-Grammer said he expected a reasonable winter.

Nigel Martin, of Harcourts Advantage Realty, agreed the next quarter would be positive in Tauranga.

"I think we are going to see some pretty good sales values in the next two to three months," he said.

But despite Tauranga growth, the Western Bay of Plenty market continued to struggle - down by more than 6 per cent in the quarter.

LJ Hooker franchise owner Neville Falconer said the rural sector had endured a tough time in recent years due to the affects of PSA on the region's orchards. "There's been a lot of hit factors. The thing is, with the new strain of gold [kiwifruit], there's light at the end of a four-year tunnel," he said.