Rotorua REINZ spokesman Ian McDowell said Rotorua enjoyed great housing affordability.
"House prices in Rotorua are quite low. You can buy a three-bedroom house for $70,000," he said.
Looming changes to high-risk home loans had pushed some people to "make up their mind" about getting into the market, meaning more interest was being shown than usual. Low interest rates had also seen an increase in higher-end property sales, as people rushed to get in before rates went up. But neither had pushed prices up, and Rotorua was generally cheap for buyers, Mr McDowell said.
Nationally, housing affordability improved from 56.7 per cent in June to 55.3 per cent in July.
The median national pay packet for the 30-34 age bracket was $807.79 a week, up from $793.85 a year ago.
Auckland was the toughest location for first-home buyers, where it would take 89.9 per cent of an after-tax income to afford a house in South Auckland, and 101.7 per cent on the North Shore. The cheapest place to buy a house was Wanganui, with 31.5 per cent affordability.
The national median house price fell to $385,000 in July from $394,000, as banks began tightening lending criteria to comply with the Reserve Bank's new "speed limit" lending restrictions.
These restrict the amount of low-deposit home loans banks can issue to borrowers. The measures don't come in until October 1, but banks have already begun offering low interest rates to borrowers with deposits of more than 20 per cent and imposing "low-equity premiums" on those with lower deposits, the Roost report said.
Lending criteria was also being tightened for people with bad credit ratings.
"Banks are varying their offers much more than they have in recent years, which makes getting expert advice and help from a broker in those negotiations even more important," Roost Mortgage Brokers spokeswoman Colleen Dennehy said. "Borrowers with more equity are also now in a much stronger position to work with a broker to negotiate better deals." Cassandra Mason