"The price growth is great for the region - we haven't had good house prices for over 10 years."
He said the REINZ statistics, to be released in nine days, should show a similar pattern of growth and an increase in median house prices.
"The market is very strong at the moment and it's a great time to buy or sell property in the Bay."
Harcourts Hawke's Bay managing director Kaine Wilson said Hastings' growth in values often lagged behind Napier's since 2007 but the two were generally close. Capital gain was increasingly the norm.
"We are experiencing people who have bought at market price in the past one or two years and selling now, capitalising on a profit after costs - that's a definite demonstration that prices have lifted," he said.
Falling interest rates meant investors were "strong buyers" at the lower end, lifting prices for first-home buyers.
QV valuer Bevan Pickett said out-of-towners were "clearly present" in the market: "It appears that they see more value in property here than the local buyers do."
Hawke's Bay had an "air of optimism" and multiple-offers were more common.
"This competition will potentially stimulate value growth, though this has not been seen across the board yet."
House asking prices are also up. Realestate.co.nz figures for August show an 8 per cent jump from July to an average of $387,504 for the region. The national increase was 5.5 per cent to $568,215.
Bay values should continue rising. New property listings for August were 7.4 per cent down on the same month last year and at the present rate of sales it would take 17 weeks to sell all listed houses. The long-term average was 38 weeks.
Andrew White of My Valuer said while the Bay market was enjoying growth it was unlikely to be as great as Auckland's. The index showed Auckland was 20.4 per cent up year-on-year and 60.1 per cent up on the 2007 peak.
"Hawke's Bay is very stable with a good solid workforce, but incomes generally dictate house prices," he said.
