Southland is hitting records in the real estate market with buyers coming from far and wide.
As Central Otago hits an average asking price of more than $1.6 million, Southland set a record asking price of $555,173 last month.
Confidence from the new government leading to investors coming back into the market has helped boost more interest in real estate in the south and it shows no sign of relenting.
Southland is the second most affordable region in New Zealand and achieved a 17-year record average asking price of $555,173, according to statistics supplied by real.estate.co.nz.
Its spokeswoman Vanessa Williams said the start of the new year had brought a dramatic shift in market activity.
She said auctions were returning to prominence and that was now the preferred pricing strategy nationwide.
The Southland average price was up by more then 13% from January last year.
There is less stock in the market in Southland with a drop of 12% in the number of listings compared to January last year.
"The extraordinary rise in Central Otago Lakes District, crossing the $1.6 million mark, alongside Southland's peak, highlights the diverse and dynamic nature of New Zealand's property market," she said.
Invercargill real estate agent Sean Bellew said there had been a real lift in the market right across the board.
He had five properties for sale last week and had a combined 27 offers over the five properties.
"There is a lot more demand coming back into the market. Huge demand has come back through the change of government. The brightline test is coming back to two years, the mum and dad investor is back looking," he said.
"The new government is giving a lot more confidence to people."
He said there was still plenty of stock for first home buyers. People coming in with KiwiSaver funds had led to plenty of competition in that market about 18 months ago but that had cooled off recently so there were houses at that level to buy.
Houses were taking more than 40 days to sell, he said.
He said investors from Auckland, Tauranga and Wellington were showing plenty of interest in the Invercargill market. They saw the market as an attractive one where they could make a return.
