It appears issues with rates haven't deterred property buyers in Mangawhai Heads, with values increasing over 10 per cent in the two years to April.
New figures released from state valuer Quotable Value (QV) show Mangawhai Heads property values leading the way in Northland with a 10.5 per cent increase in the two years to April, to an average of $565,400.
Kaikohe and parts of Whangarei also experienced increases, ranging from 0.7 to 6.5 per cent.
Further north, Kaitaia had the biggest decrease of 7.5 per cent, to an average of $157,800.
Ray White Mangawhai business owner Kaye McElwain said while she had noticed a marked increase in the volume of sales in the area, prices had remained "fairly steady" - possibly skewed by the selling of higher-end properties.
Eighteen months ago a high-end property was sold for $2.8 million - the highest sale ever in Mangawhai. The closest prior was $1.675m, she said.
"I would think the volume of sales has gone up [rather than price] - we still have listings available."
From May 2013 to April there were approximately 130 property sales in Mangawhai, with an increase in sales between the $1.5 to $1.75m mark, Ms McElwain said.
According to the QV figures, Kaikohe had the second highest increase in the two years to April of 6.5 per cent to $135,850, followed by Maunu with an increase of 6.3 per cent to $427,520.
Barfoot and Thompson Whangarei manager Martin Dear said Maunu, Onerahi and Kamo have been the strongest in Whangarei in terms of sales.
"Maunu has gone up a lot, Kamo's had the leading sales and Onerahi's not far behind."
"Whangarei is getting a lot stronger [in general]. We are getting more Aucklanders coming up to look at our listings, who are cashed up.
"It's not booming, but it's looking a lot more promising. There's a lot more energy around the place," he said.
LJ Hooker Whangarei chief executive Paul Beazley said sales had slowed in the $200k-$300k price bracket. But higher-end properties such as lifestyle blocks were selling around the Whangarei district, which was influencing the average current value.
"They're good buying. You can buy a really nice home on a block of land not far from the central city [for between $450k and $550k]."
Across Northland, values remain well down on the 2007 market peak, the figures show.
Nationally, property values jumped 8.2 per cent over the past 12 months to $471,791, and are up 13.9 per cent on the 2007 market peak.
However, the increase was mainly driven by the over-heated Auckland and Christchurch markets.
QV national spokeswoman Andrea Rush said values in many of the smaller regions were flat or decreasing.
"Sales volumes around the country are 10 to 15 per cent lower than they were this time last year which could be a normal winter seasonal effect but it could also be a precursor to values dropping."
The Reserve Bank lending restrictions continued to affect many regions, with slower sales in the first home buyer sector of the market, she said.
Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank yesterday raised the official cash rate for a third time, to 3.25 per cent, putting further pressures on mortgage holders.