Aucklanders heat up housing market

The median price for a house in Hawke's Bay was a record $310,000, a massive gap from the Auckland median price.

Moving to Hawke's Bay was a "no-brainer" for Daniel and Sioned Oliver, two of the many Aucklanders purchasing property in the Bay.

"Affordability was at the heart of it," Mr Oliver said. "We'd come down for holidays and looked at the house prices, and it was a no-brainer."

They also chose to move for their two daughters, aged 9 and 10, as Napier was "a very family-oriented place - everything happening along Marine Parade is just brilliant.

"I'm also quite passionate about wine," Mr Oliver added.

Since moving into their house on Hospital Hill, the Olivers had a steady stream of visitors who were "all blown away by how vibrant Napier seems".

The Olivers are not alone in their move - Mr Oliver knows four Auckland families who have already moved to the Bay, and another three who are in the process of doing so.

The increase has been noticed by real-estate agents throughout the Bay and is adding to the Hawke's Bay property market's heat.

Tremains director Simon Tremain said about a quarter of their sales per month were to out-of-towners, half of whom were Auckland buyers. He thought more Aucklanders were making the move because of the region's "beautiful lifestyle", close proximity to amenities, and because buyers could get a lot more for their money.

"The median price for December was a record $310,000, which is a massive gap from the Auckland median price.

He said Auckland buyers were adding to the movement of the property market, which had been stagnant since 2007.

Cox Partners managing director Malcolm Cox said they were definitely seeing interested buyers from Auckland, as well as other regions.

The largest groups of out-of-towners were older people deciding that it was now the time to move to Hawke's Bay, and investors.

"Investors are disadvantaged by the Auckland criteria so are looking for better returns. Prices here are cheaper ... there are fairly few vacant good rental properties, so it's keeping rent strong."

Data showed 19 per cent of Trade Me's Hawke's Bay property views came from Aucklanders between January and November, up on 12 per cent for the same time last year.

Bayleys Havelock North sales manager Daniel Moffitt said they had noticed an increase in Aucklanders, but were also selling property to people from Wellington, Gisborne, and even Melbourne.

Property Brokers Hawke's Bay manager Paul Whitaker said the company had been making two or three more sales a month to Aucklanders recently.

He expected the Auckland interest to continue and said it increased demand for higher-priced properties, which had previously been lacking.

Hawke's Bay was not alone - Trade Me Property data shows every region around the country has experienced an increase in Aucklanders viewing their listings in the past year.

Head of Trade Me Property Nigel Jeffries said the "Auckland effect" was not an entirely new phenomenon but had "rapidly accelerated" in the past year.

"The Auckland property market has become so crazy that for some buyers, the option that makes the most sense is to buy outside their region."