Property values up in every suburb

Median property values in Taradale went up at the fastest rate - 7 per cent last year.

House values are rising in suburbs throughout Hawke's Bay — and Taradale experienced the largest increase in values last quarter.

The QV quarterly analysis of North Island property values shows the median value of a property in Taradale increased 3.7 per cent to an estimated $383,700 during the final quarter of last year and increased 7 per cent throughout the year.

Bluff Hill was the most expensive suburb to buy into, with an estimated median value of $485,000 at the end of December. That value increased 1.3 per cent over the quarter and 3.3 per cent over the year.

The cheapest suburb was Maraenui with an average value of $159,950, up 2.1 per cent throughout the quarter.

Values rose in every Hawke's Bay suburb throughout the quarter.

Leaders real-estate agency managing director Elanor MacDonald thought sales of a few expensive homes around Taradale Hill and the edges of Taradale could have affected the increased values in the suburb.

The popularity of houses in the median price bracket was up across the board, she said.

First home buyers' properties in central Hastings and Napier had been particularly popular as people took advantage of KiwiSaver and Welcome Home Loans.

Ms MacDonald believed the area's most expensive sale recently had been in the Bluff Hill area.

She said the number of listings in Napier and Hastings remained very low. "Basically for every house that comes onto the market, a house goes and gets sold," she said.

There were many more buyers than houses for sale in the area.

Those buyers were becoming frustrated by the lack of choice and multiple interest in properties.

She thought values would keeping inching up.