Wellington, Waikato and Northland top half-million property price average

The capital had also seen a percentage increase in the double digits, up 10.6 per cent in the past 12 months to a record average asking price of $508,850. Photo / SNPA

The property market outside Auckland is beginning to nip at the Super City's heels - with three regions topping the half-million dollar mark this month.

TradeMe Property's latest Price Index for November showed Waikato, Wellington and Northland have all just ticked above the average asking price of $500,000.

Head of Property, Nigel Jeffries said this time last year Auckland was the only region that had an average asking price above the half-million mark.

"Auckland became a half-million dollar region back in late 2010 and last month cracked $900,000 in average asking price for the first time."

These figures follow on the latest QV Property report released this month which showed Auckland had 99 million-dollar-plus suburbs and just three suburbs under $500,000.

Jeffries said Bay of Plenty was the first region to pass the half-million dollar mark outside of Auckland, in December last year.

Nelson slipped past $500,000 in September this year - followed by the latest trio of newcomers in November.

Jeffries said prices had been relatively stable around the $360,000 mark in Waikato between 2008 and 2014 - but began to shoot up last year.

He said Waikato had become a "powerhouse region" with the average asking price shooting up $107,700 in the past year, up 27.4 per cent from $393,400 to $501,100.

Lodge Real Estate's managing director Jeremy O'Rourke said there had been a rise in the number of listings seen in Waikato's largest city of Hamilton.

"During the last 10 days of November the city saw an upswing in the number of listings coming onto the market. Plus, we saw increased interest and urgency from buyers who are looking to make decisions before Christmas.

"This increased activity saw the city end the month of November with a lot of momentum in the housing market that will give us a good springboard into 2017."

REINZ data showed the median house price in the city, was, $527,000 in November - well over the half-million dollar mark.

Around the country, TradeMe's price index showed that all but one of the 15 regions saw a rise in average asking price.

The biggest increase after Waikato's stellar rise, was seen in Nelson and Tasman, with a 16.6 per cent rise, in the past year to $535,550.

This was followed closely by Northland with a 16.4 per cent rise in the past year to $505,600.

The capital had also seen a percentage increase in the double digits, up 10.6 per cent in the past 12 months to a record average asking price of $508,850.

Canterbury remained quiet in comparison to the rest of the country, with a 0.7 per cent rise in the past year, up $3,400 to $473,900.

TradeMe figures showed the average asking price across the country rose to $624,850, up 1.1 per cent since October and up 9.8 per cent since November 2015.