Whangarei and Kaipara property values have risen in the past year, but new figures reveal the Far North has lost ground.
Kaipara values led the charge with a 4.3 per cent increase in the year to October to an average value of $320,450, followed by Whangarei which recorded a 2.4per cent increase to $330,727, according to state valuer Quotable Value.
But the Far North suffered a 6.1 per cent slump, with average values dropping to $298,319.
Across the region, values remain well down on the 2007 market peak, the figures show.
New Zealand property values rose at an 8.9 per cent annual pace to hit an average value of $457,312, driven by a shortage of houses in Auckland and Christchurch.
In contrast, Kaipara was starting to feel the "Auckland effect", as people moved north.
QV research director Jonno Ingerson said the Reserve Bank's caps on low-deposit loans were likely to affect property values and the volume of sales. The effects would be most felt by first-home buyers and in provincial areas, but it would be some months before evidence showed.
Viva Home Loans consultant John Peterson, in Whangarei, said his business had been busy, with no discernible drop in first home buyers.
Professional Advisers Association (PAA) chairman Bruce Cortesi said "without a doubt" mortgage advisers nationwide had been forced to turn away first home buyers who did not meet the new lending criteria of a 20 per cent deposit.
