Bay of Plenty property: Million-dollar-plus sales jump 29.9pc year-on-year

Median house prices in the Bay of Plenty leaped 32.3 per cent year-on-year to $820,000. Photo / Getty Images

Million-dollar-plus property sales in the Bay of Plenty have jumped "significantly" in the last year, according to new figures.

The latest Real Estate Institute of New Zealand figures revealed sales of $1 million or above properties were up 29.9 per cent this May compared to 8.6 per cent in May last year.

REINZ regional director Neville Falconer said million-dollar-plus properties had "increased significantly", showing the underlying strength in the market.

The Bay of Plenty saw median house prices jump 32.3 per cent year-on-year in May to $820,000 from $620,000 a year before.

The Whakatāne District reached a new record median house price of $685,000 in
May 2021, up 39.5 per cent annually from $491,000.

Tauranga City's median house price jumped a whopping 40.9 per cent in the last year to $930,000 from $660,000 - but dropped 1.3 per cent from $942,000 in April 2021.

Rotorua District's median house price has climbed 22.9 per cent in the last year to $590,000 - but was down 3.3 per cent from $610,000 in April 2021.

Falconer said new listings were down 11.7 per cent annually for the region, contributing to the 46.9 per cent drop in available inventory and increasing the competition for available properties.

"Investor activity in the region has remained rather steady over the last few months, indicating the newly imposed Government restrictions are not yet having the intended effect."