House market its 'best since 2007'

Hawke's Bay is at the top of the list for those looking to escape the Auckland property rat race

Hawke's Bay is reaping the rewards of the over-heated Auckland housing market with many properties selling above their value.

Aucklanders are significantly more interested in properties outside their region compared with the same time last year, the latest data from Realestate.co.nz reveals.

Hawke's Bay is at the top of the list for those looking to escape the rat race. The number of Aucklanders looking for a spot in the sun last month in the Bay had jumped 152.2 per cent compared with May last year.

The "dramatic change" in online searching behaviour, appeared to be driven by record high property prices in Auckland, Realestate.co.nz chief executive Brendon Skipper said.

Property Brokers Hawke's Bay manager Paul Whitaker said he'd noticed an influx of buyers from Auckland in Hawke's Bay.

The number of referrals too had jumped from one or two a month to six or seven.

"We're definitely seeing an increase, without a doubt. I can put it down to the Auckland market - people are taking their money out of it. If people are re-investing [money in Auckland], they're not getting anywhere."

People who weren't dependent on the job market were looking toward Hawke's Bay for the lifestyle and the weather, Mr Whitaker said. It also gave them a chance to retire earlier.

"They're getting great bang for their buck,' he said.

"It's probably people who are not coming here to be work dependent; they're coming here to retire and to cash in."

These buyers were looking for properties in the mid to higher end of the market, valued at $400,000 or more.

"It's definitely making the mid-end of the market more buoyant for this time of year."

And it was driving prices up.

Ten offers were recently put in on a Napier property with a rateable value of about $420,000. It sold well above expectation, for $480,000.

"It's a sellers market."

Mr Whitaker said sellers should "get in quick" and take advantage because good prices were being paid.

"It's the best the market has been since 2007. It's the most buoyant winter in eight years."

Tremains Real Estate director and co-owner Simon Tremain said Aucklanders could get more for their money in Hawke's Bay.

"Aucklanders are selling up and coming down here, because what they can buy down here is substantially more than what they can buy up there. The gap's quite wide."

According to Realestate.co.nz. average asking prices for houses in Auckland was $793,260. The average asking price in Hawke's Bay was $369,109.