Mortgagee sales in Tauranga city have jumped 36 per cent compared with the same time last year, and experts say this time it's "mum and dad" property owners hurting.
Terralink International's latest figures show there were 19 forced sales in Tauranga last quarter (July, August, September), an increase from 14 in the same quarter last year.
And in the Western Bay district, there was also a slight increase, with six forced sales compared with five the previous year.
The Bay of Plenty, including Rotorua, Whakatane and Opotiki, was one of the worst hit regions with a 53 per cent increase, with only Wellington (85 per cent increase) and Waikato (73 per cent increase) suffering more.
Nationally, the number of mortgagee sales increased by 11.6 per cent compared with the previous quarter. There were 652 forced sales in the last quarter (July, August, September), an increase from 584 in the previous quarter.
Terralink managing director Mike Donald said more property owners were feeling the sting of the recession, as forced sales rose again towards record highs.
Mortgagee sales were again increasing, after having trended down in the first part of this year.
Since July, the trend had significantly reversed and the number of forced sales was climbing back towards record highs.
Ordinary Kiwis continued to feel the sting of the economic recession, he said.
"Mum and dad property owners are losing their family homes. In 2009 at the height of the recession it was predominantly the over-committed property investors and developers that were losing their investments to mortgagee sales.
"Since then, the number of property investors and developers being affected has decreased, but the number of ordinary Kiwis losing their only property - most likely their family home - has been steadily rising. It's clear for many, times are getting tougher, not better."
Mr Donald said in August this year, 27 per cent of mortgagee sales were for individual property owners who owned only one property.
"This is the second highest percentage of mum and dad property owners facing mortgagee sales we have ever recorded. The economic recovery has not been a reality for these people.
"A mortgagee sale is the result of months and months of economic hardship and only occurs when all other potential solutions have been exhausted. If mortgagee sales are considered an indicator of economic hardship it's clear there are still tough times ahead," Mr Donald said.
Ross Stanway, chief executive of Realty Services which operates Bayleys and Eves, was unsurprised by the figures.
"There's a reasonably consistent and relatively low level of mortgagee sales and the statistics would back that up. That pattern has been there for a while."
Mr Stanway said "mum and dad" owners were losing their properties in Tauranga, in line with the national trend.
"In some instances that does relate to what other investment interests the mum and dad may have, which has caused them to have to sell their own home.
"The presence of mortgagee sales is a fact of life in the current market, it has been for some time in the last two to three years.
"I guess if you are looking on the optimistic side, you could say it's positive there hasn't been a dramatic increase."
Banks seemed to be more willing to work with their clients to avoid mortgagee sales if possible, Mr Stanway said.
Max Martin, franchise owner of Harcourts Advantage Realty, said the Terralink figures reflected what he was seeing in the Tauranga market.
"It's not a major, it's still only a small percentage of sales, but it is a worrying trend."
But the types of property owners succumbing to mortgagee sales had changed since the start of the recession, he said.
"Four or five years ago we were getting developers going broke having mortgagee sales. Recently some of the sales have been [brought about by] marriage break-ups and things like that." The husband has gone off to Australia and the wife can't pay the mortgage.
"There's not that many genuine family homes, there's usually another reason behind it."
The website realestate.co.nz this week listed 11 properties up for mortgagee sale in Tauranga and the Western Bay this week, including three apartments at The Quest complex on Maunganui Rd, which features a gym, sauna, spa and large pool.
Other properties included three-bedroom family homes in Welcome Bay, Pyes Pa Rd, Hairini and Papamoa, as well as more upmarket properties in Papamoa and Te Puke, and an empty section in Pyes Pa.