Dairy and dairy support properties in Otago are attracting strong interest, along with properties in Southland with soils capable of sustainable wintering, Real Estate Institute of New Zealand rural spokesman Brian Peacocke says.
Auckland and Canterbury continue to underpin soaring median house prices, but Queenstown recorded one of the highest national median prices nationwide at $568,250.
The Central Otago and Lakes region has become the first area in New Zealand where the average residential home asking price tops $700,000.
Residential house sales nationally grew by more than 20% during 2012 and an acute supply and demand imbalance is likely to keep pushing prices up, particularly in Christchurch and Auckland.
Median house prices have slumped 8% during the past year, and Dunedin has recorded the largest fall in house prices of all New Zealand's main centres, Real Estate Institute of New Zealand figures show.
The strongest activity in the Queenstown property market since the global financial meltdown was recorded in August, the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) says.
July was a slower month for sales activity in the Queenstown property market, 43 property sales being completed, the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) says.
A surge of farm sales in the three months ending in March is the highest number of sales in a three-month period since September 2008 - the start of the global financial crisis.
Otago's February real estate sales figures - sale prices and the number of homes sold - seesawed across the province, according to Real Estate Institute of New Zealand figures.
Overall demand for property in Queenstown has strengthened, but this has not yet translated into improved sales, with many prospective buyers still lacking the confidence to make decisions, the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) says.
The Dunedin City Council's decision to add flood warnings based on computer modelling to Dunedin homes' land information memorandums (LIMs) has been criticised as "ridiculous" by the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand.
Residential property information for July shows "more of the same", southern Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) spokeswoman Liz Nidd said.
Farm prices continue to drop with the median price per hectare now at the lowest point since September 2003.
Last month saw a continuing period of "solid inquiry and buyer activity" in the Queenstown housing market, the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) said.
Increasing confidence in the rural sector, coupled with continued high commodity prices, are translating into greater confidence in buying farms.
The Christchurch property market is in a "holding pattern" and may take two years to return to normal, Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) director and Christchurch spokesman David Rankin says.
A Queenstown property specialist says the town's residential rental property market has improved by 50% year on year, despite a nationwide downhill trend.
Potential holiday home purchasers appear to be spoilt for choice in popular South Island holiday towns, with so many properties on the market it will realistically take several years to clear the listings.
Queenstown's property market is lifting on the back of strong pre-Christmas residential sales and the most inquiries since the credit crunch sparked the global recession in 2007, says REINZ Queenstown spokesman Adrian Snow.
While Queenstown real estate agents were "surprised" by the low number of sales in July, Queenstown was "arguably" fairing better than the rest of New Zealand overall, Real Estate Institute of New Zealand Queenstown spokesman Adrian Snow said.
