After a long overdue pause in the most overheated parts of the market, house prices are again tipped to soar by an average of 18.3 per cent in the next four years.
That is how much Treasury is predicting house prices will rise between now and 2023 - a rise of about $125,000 on the average residential house values cited by Quotable Value for March 2019.
In Auckland that figure is even higher, adding about $190,00 to the average house value of $1.03 million.
For prospective first time buyers like Nelson mother of two Anastazja Fastier, 38, it's putting the dream of home ownership further out of reach.
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Property values in some parts of regional New Zealand are already booming - the latest Real Estate Institute report revealed a new record median price in Gisborne, which recorded a staggering 54.4 per cent year-on-year rise to $440,000 up from $285,000 last May. That's a $155,000 increase, or $2645 a day.
Median house prices across New Zealand increased by 3.2 per cent in May to $578,000, up from $560,000 in May 2018 - and are even stronger once Auckland is excluded, increasing by 7.2 per cent to $487,770 up from $455,000 in May last year,.
CoreLogic said it preferred to use the House Price Index as a comparison, because it measures the value movement of all properties in an area, not only those that happen to have sold in the month.
By that measure the housing market recorded a "slow and steady" rise of 1.8 per cent year on year, but the regions were still outperforming many of the larger centres. Some of that growth is attributed to an exodus of Aucklanders to cheaper locations.
There are signs, however, that the recent fall in Auckland property values may have been arrested, with property values up 0.5 per cent in May, according to CoreLogic.