QV figures show house values in Central Hawke's Bay have increased 22.7 per cent from a year ago, making it challenging for buyers who don't want to blow the budget.
Kim Mullany and her family, who had been living and working on a dairy farm, have spent about a year searching for a house in town after a change in job and in that time had seen for themselves the jump in prices.
This was particularly the case in the last six months when they intensified their search for a four bedroom house with a good-sized section that was within their price range, she said.
"We were seeing good-sized sections but with the wrong-sized house, or they were out of our price range.
"We had to balance getting what we wanted without leaving it too long as the prices are going up all the time - we eventually found what we wanted in Waipawa."