Many first-home buyers in the Bay were looking for properties that didn't need a lot of work and could meet Welcome Home Loan criteria.
There weren't as many of those available as the agency would like to see, she said.
"There's quite a lot of competition for good ones, which we expect over the next few months will increase the prices."
MacDonald said there was a "desperate shortage" of houses listed for less than $600,000. However, there were plenty of homes in the area and an increase in prices would get the market moving again. MacDonald said that sort of increase was now in its early stages.
"If I was looking for a first home, I would be hunting hard right now if I was going to be buying one in the next year or so, because I can't see them getting any cheaper."
MacDonald said Leaders was getting inquiries from potential buyers from Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington.
She thought Aucklanders in particular were realising they could have a nicer house and less stress if they moved to Hawke's Bay.
Nationwide, the median price of a first home last year was $380,000, according to CoreLogic. A total of 16,120 first homes were sold last year.
ASB senior economist Chris Tennent-Brown said first-home affordability varied widely from region to region.
Wages were rising modestly and interest rates had fallen, improving affordability nationwide.
Auckland house prices were well up on last year, however, hurting affordability and swamping those other positive factors.
"If you've got prices going up 15, 20 per cent in a year, well it doesn't really matter if mortgage rates are 5.5 or 6 per cent, you've got an affordability stretch going on."
Salaries in Wellington were going up at the same rate as elsewhere in New Zealand but house prices there were flat compared to five years ago.
"Combine that with lower mortgage rates, and houses have actually got more affordable there over recent years," said Tennent-Brown.
"So it really is an Auckland versus the rest story when you look at that affordability challenge over the past year because it's Auckland house prices that have changed significantly relative to incomes over the last five years."
Places where land was less of a premium hadn't experienced the same house price pressures as Auckland. However, smaller houses and more intensive use of land for housing would also bring down the cost of houses in those parts of New Zealand.
Tennent-Brown said the construction sector and housing market had been more subdued in areas without Auckland's population growth.
Builders in the regions would build if they were getting the right signals. The first signal would be prices going up and the market becoming a bit more buoyant.
Job security was another factor in being able to buy a first home.
Real estate publications had reported inquiries from Aucklanders were picking up in the regions.
"I think it's something that people should consider because house prices have got extremely stretched and that affordability problem in Auckland is a pretty tough one," said Tennent-Brown.
However people didn't decide where to live based purely on house prices. They also considered family and social ties and job prospects.
Tennent-Brown said interest rates would probably rise and the outlook for wage increases was reasonably modest.
That meant people who were borrowing large amounts for first homes would be paying it off for an awfully long time.
