Northland has become a very attractive place to live and buy property, according to local real estate principals.
Bayleys Real Estate's Tony Grindle said Whangarei had a lot to offer and this was reflected in house sales - with record prices the norm - and stock availability plummeting.
"There were 95 residential properties sold in May 2015 - this May there have been 142 residential sales. And anecdotally, the number of listings for the city is at the lowest since the 2008 global financial crash."
This has contributed to the Whangarei median property price jumping from around $287,000 in May 2015 to $335,000 this May. He believes much of that pressure on the Whangarei market is coming from people returning to New Zealand as well as skyrocketing Auckland prices.
"There's no question this is being driven by people from Auckland buying properties up here," Mr Grindle said.