Sluggish property values have plagued Napier and Hastings in the past year but Central Hawke's Bay values have enjoyed a 4.4 per cent rise, new figures reveal.
Central Hawke's Bay values rose 4.4 per cent in the year to June, reaching an average value of $210,326, while Napier dipped 0.3 per cent to $325,095 and Hastings 0.3 per cent to $300,145, according to state valuer Quotable Value.
However, Central Hawke's Bay property values were still more than 20 per cent lower than the 2007 market peak.
According to the latest Real Estate Institute of New Zealand data, the median Hawke's Bay house price in May this year was $285,000.
Tremain Real Estate managing director Simon Tremain said the sluggish figures "weren't surprising at all".
"The year started really well, we were hoping we were on the back of the Auckland rise ... "
But slow population growth kept activity to a minimum, he said.
It wasn't hard to find buyers, but buyers struggled to find a good deal, he said.
"It's a reasonably static market [with] not a lot of capital growth."
Havelock and Taradale tended to hold their values, but there wasn't any real improvement anywhere else in the market, Mr Tremain said. "Until we get on the back of some demand ... there probably won't be [any improvement]."
QV national spokeswoman Andrea Rush said while the national value was still on the rise, the picture around the country was mixed.
"Residential property values in Auckland and Christchurch are still increasing at a similar rate to what they were in June last year," she said.
"Values in Wellington and Dunedin are showing a downward trend this month, as are a number of other provincial centres around the country."
Sales volumes and home loan approvals were also down "considerably" - about 15 to 20 per cent lower than the same time last year. The Reserve Bank last month raised its official cash rate by 25 basis points to 3.25 per cent and is expected to keep raising rates, with economists predicting another increase to 3.5 per cent on July 24.APNZ