Hawke's Bay house prices hit new high

Hawke's Bay house prices have reached an all-time high and the number of houses being sold has also risen.

Figures released by the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand show that Hawke's Bay's median price for April was $296,000, beating the previous record of $292,500 set in November 2008.

On top of that, the 9 per cent median price increase, compared to April 2011, was the strongest regional performance in the country.

Both Napier and Hastings markets performed well but price growth in Hastings was strongest, with an 18 per cent increase from the same time last year.

Sales volumes, compared to April 2011, jumped by nearly 40 per cent - again the strongest regional performance in New Zealand. In line with seasonal trends, sales volumes in April fell by more than 20 per cent compared to March.

The number of days to sell in Hawke's Bay eased by three days from 45 in March to 48 in April, and compares to 41 days in April 2011.

Over the past few months the Hawke's Bay median price trend has started to lift, particularly with the record median price this month. The trend in sales volume is also starting to lift, although less rapidly.

Harcourts Hawke's Bay managing director Kaine Wilson said April had been an exceptional month. "Some of our salespeople have had their best month in six or seven years," he said.

The national median house price eased back by $5000 to $365,000, after reaching a new record high of $370,000 in March - up 1.4 per cent compared to April last year.

REINZ chief executive Helen O'Sullivan said overall activity levels had eased slightly after a strong March.

"While the national median price has pulled back from the record set last month the trend is still moving up, although not at a great pace," she said.

"The new record median price for Hawke's Bay is indicative of some improvement in activity in the regions, although for the most part activity remains flat outside the markets of Auckland and Christchurch."