But there continued to be a lot of optimism in the housing market, with a decent section of the market likely to continue unaffected, he said.
Mr Pickett said some offers had fallen over as buyers struggled to find finance, with banks already feeling obliged to operate under the new 40 per cent deposit investor rules.
There was still a shortage of stock with investors snapping up properties in lower quality housing areas that had previously not had much interest.
Mr Pickett said there had been significant value growth in these locations with a shortage of available rentals.
"The lack of stock available to buy or rent means homeowners have to ensure they have organised their next step if they are selling their home to avoid being left with limited options.
"We are seeing examples of lower-quality housing stock, which failed to sell when the market was quiet, coming back on to the market and selling relatively quickly now the market is much more buoyant."
Property Brokers Hawke's Bay manager Paul Whitaker said they were seeing people with pre-approval from lenders rushing to buy property before new restrictions to lending limits were implemented.
He said he could see the heat on the market staying until Christmas, and the average house value in Napier get close to $400,000 in that time.
Harcourts managing director Kaine Wilson said the QV figures corresponded with the sale prices they were witnessing.
The heat on the market was still due to supply and demand, he said, with the level of supply last month "seriously down".
"We've seen a remarkable difference in the past four or five days," he said.
"Where there has been a lack of supply, there's been a lot more interest in bringing properties to market this month."
The Hawke's Bay figures compare nationally with residential property values for July having increased 14.1 per cent during the past year and rising by 6.1 per cent during the past three months, making them 45.4 per cent above the previous market peak of late 2007.
Bayleys Hawke's Bay commercial manager Daniel Moffitt said many of the lower end house sales came as residential property investors sold up while the property market was hot.
He said it was something real estate agents had been expecting.
"Our last 10 residential and lifestyle properties sold were at an average of 24 per cent above old QV prices."
