Hawke's Bay houses can still be bought for less than $200,000, but don't expect a stampede of people buying them up with no-deposit loans.
Real Estate Institute president Howard Morley said you could still buy houses in the major centres with that kind of money.
Mr Morley said the expanded Welcome Home
Loan scheme would allow first home buyers to enter the market, but having the income to pay a mortgage was still the key.
Massey University Real Estate Analysis Unit director Professor Bob Hargreaves said people would have to be careful not to over-commit themselves.
House prices could rise if real estate agents and vendors knew there was more money about, but Professor Hargreaves said the scheme alone was unlikely to have this effect.
Households would not necessarily leave the bigger cities to buy cheaper houses in the provinces.
"If the jobs are there people will come."
