Dunedin, Central Otago and the Queenstown Lakes areas have posted double-digit house value growth during the past year.
Dunedin values last month rose 10.3% to $323,735, against May last year, Central Otago booked a 14.7% gain to $374,408 while Queenstown Lakes was up 22%, to $875,002.
Quotable Value data for May released yesterday had a national average value of $577,829, up 12.4%, while wider Auckland rose 15.4% to $955,793.
QV spokeswoman Andrea Rush said while residential property values were rising rapidly across Auckland again, they also continued to accelerate in many other parts of the country and much of the activity was driven by strong demand from investors.
"Tauranga, Hamilton, Wellington, Dunedin and Queenstown values continue to see particularly strong growth, as do many other regional centres and smaller towns located within commuting distance of these main centres,'' Ms Rush said yesterday.
QV's Dunedin registered valuer Duncan Jack said around the city multi-offer scenarios "remain commonplace'' and demand for mid to higher-value homes, from $350,000 to $600,000, appeared to be at its strongest for several years.
"Dunedin home values have accelerated over the past three months and it continues to be a 'sellers' market' with buyer demand still strong and sales activity levels very buoyant,'' Mr Jack said.
There was still a shortage of listings and agents were still finding it difficult to satisfy buyer demand, with the low interest rates and availability of funds likely to be assisting in fuelling the demand, he said.
Ms Rush said the Queenstown Lakes district was "racing ahead as the perfect storm'' of high demand from tourists, locals, workers and investors all looking for accommodation meant housing costs were at a premium.
"Home values rose 9% over the past three months alone and a huge 22% year on year,'' Ms Rush said.
The neighbouring Central Otago district is also experiencing strong buyer demand in towns such as Wanaka, Cromwell and Clyde. Values in the district were up 6.2% over the past three months and 14.7% year on year.
"The only South Island area to see values decrease over the past three months was the Westland District, down 5.3%, and the Hurunui District, near Christchurch, which was down slightly by 0.2%,'' Ms Rush said.
