House prices nationwide rose 7.3 per cent in the year to March, the fastest annual rate since last June, and Opotiki could be the place to buy, according to the latest monthly QV House Price Index.
When adjusted for inflation the national annual increase drops to 5.6 per cent.
Residential property values rose 1.2 per cent over the past three months and the national average value is now $677,618.
The highest quarterly growth was seen on the East Coast settlement of Opotiki where values rose 16.1 per cent in the first quarter of the year.
QV says it's the regions that continue to see the highest value growth, driven by demand from people looking for more affordable homes or investment properties outside of the main centres.
Meanwhile, residential property values across the Auckland Region increased slightly by one per cent year on year, but when adjusted for inflation values dropped 0.6 per cent over the past year.
“The Auckland and Christchurch housing markets have seen little value movement over the past year
Values ticked up slightly by 0.4 per cent over the past quarter and the average value for Auckland is now $1,055,992.
QV national spokesperson Andrea Rush said residential property value growth remains subdued compared to recent years, but March has seen the usual seasonal pick-up in sales volumes and activity.
"This has seen nationwide annual value growth rise to 7.3 per cent which is the fastest rate in nine months but sales volumes are still lower than usual for March," Ms Rush said.
Of the main centres, Dunedin leads the way with annual growth of 9.4 per cent, while the Auckland and Christchurch housing markets have seen little value movement over the past year, she said.
Annual value growth across the Auckland Region has slowed from 12.3 per cent in March 2017 to just one per cent in March 2018 and Christchurch is down 0.6 per cent over the past year.
The rate of growth has also slowed in the Wellington region from 21.2 per cent in March 2017 to 8.2 per cent last month.
The Tauranga and Hamilton markets are still rising but again at much slower rates than the previous two years, Ms Rush said.
With restrictions on finance being eased by the retail banks, it's been a little easier for some investors and home buyers to gain finance to purchase, she said.
"First home buyers appear to be capitalising on subdued investor activity and some are finding they can purchase more easily without the same level of competition from multiple property owners if they are not already priced out of the market," Ms Rush said.
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