Hawke's Bay 'new Tauranga' for Aucklanders as property values rise

Hawke's Bay's intensely hot property costs have rise in a few areas by more than 10 percent in three months, driven by an influx of Aucklanders moving in.The area is encountering the absolute most strongest house value growth in New Zealand, in stark contrast to many other regions that are encountering a slowdown in growth.Hastings, specifically, emerges with quarterly growth to January 31 of 10.8 percent while Central Hawke's Bay continues to build on a solid yearly growth figure of 19.6 per cent.Napier is up 11.3 percent from this time a year ago and 4.3 percent in the last quarter aloneQV property consultant Nicola Waldon said the price increase was being driven by the number of people moving in from out of the area, namely Auckland, and by developers wanting to make money renovating and on-selling houses.Overall, low levels of supply coupled with low interest rates continue to support strong value growth. Well-presented properties are selling quickly ... which reflects how busy the market currently is, Waldon said.The average Auckland house will even now set you back simply over $1 million, however in Hastings you can get one for a large portion of that with the average cost at $504,000.Hawkes Bay's average house deal cost is more than $100,000 not exactly the national normal of $550,000 ? normal $445,000 - however the area has now watched costs increment by more than $150,000 in the course of recent years, according to the Real Estate Institute.QV senior consultant Paul McCorry said Hawke's Bay had the potential to be the new Tauranga for Aucklanders.When you consider the warm climate and great lifestyle on offer in Hawke's Bay, with an average value of just over $530,000 it offers a more affordable alternative to other attractive lifestyle locations, such as Tauranga where the average value is now just over $720,000.That would suggest there is likely some additional headroom for further growth in Hawke's Bay.For Napier resident Chris Hamilton the move from Auckland around two years prior was a no-brainer.A few times a year I would come down and visit my sister, who lived here, and I just fell in love with Napier, Hamilton said.The region is a slower and more relaxed place, where the people will actually stop and say good morning and ask how your day is.They don't ignore you and look at you sideways like they would in Auckland.The huge drawcard in moving to Napier was its coastline, she said.I love just being able to cruise to the beach and down the coastal pathway in my mobility scooter and then go into town and see all the old Art Deco buildings, I just love it, Hamilton said.You can't get any of that in Auckland.