Napier and Hastings rank inside the top 10 centres in New Zealand for the biggest hike in first-home values during 2021.
It has been another tough year for those wanting to break into the housing market in Hawke's Bay - with many watching house prices get further and further out of reach.
New data released on Monday put Napier fourth and Hastings ninth in a list of "main centres" throughout New Zealand that had the highest jump in first-home values this year.
Napier now has an average first-home price tag of $588,851 while Hastings is slightly lower at $521,520.
The data released by government-owned valuation company Quotable Value defined a first home as being within the 25 per cent least valuable properties for any given area.
The top-10 growth list had Papakura on top (41 per cent increase in first-home property values during 2021), Christchurch (37.7 per cent), Franklin (33.7 per cent), Napier (30.2 per cent), and New Plymouth (30 per cent).
They were followed by Hutt City (29.6 per cent increase), Tauranga (28.9 per cent), Upper Hutt (27.7 per cent), Hastings (26.6 per cent), and Invercargill (26.2 per cent).
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However, in what could be good news for first-home buyers, OneRoof editor and property expert Owen Vaughan said house price growth was forecast to slow down.
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Advertise with NZME."Low interest rates have been the biggest driver of the housing market in New Zealand in the last 12 months, putting significant upwards pressure on property values," he said.
"Next year will be different with rising interest rates and tougher lending rules expected to blunt buyer appetite and put the brakes on price growth."
Despite rapidly rising house prices this year, there were still plenty of first-home buyers breaking into the Hawke's Bay market, Vaughan said.
"Nationally, first-home buyers have increased their share of new purchases from 35.8 per cent in quarter one of this year to 38.9 per cent in quarter four, with investors falling from 26.2 per cent to 25.3 per cent over the same period.
"Hawke's Bay has followed a similar course, with first-home buyers' share of purchases jumping from 30.6 per cent to 33.9 per cent and investor activity sliding from 26.3 per cent to 24.6 per cent."
Quotable Value spokesman Simon Petersen said it would be a challenging year ahead for first-home buyers looking to borrow money, due to increased interest rates.
"With interest rates highly likely to rise further, [it will make] things even more difficult for first-home buyers in the foreseeable future."
