More Kiwis became instant millionaires last year than ever before thanks to the nation's booming housing market.
New data showed 69 per cent more homes sold for $1 million or more in 2021 than a year earlier.
That equated to 30,873 Kiwi homes selling for the magic million mark or higher last year, compared to 18,260 in 2020, the Real Estate Institute found.
In total, 35 per cent of all house sales in New Zealand and 62 per cent in Auckland were worth more than $1m.
Manawatu/Whanganui was the region with the biggest percentage jump in millionaires as 212 homes sold for $1 million or more last year — up 308 per cent on the 52 properties in 2020.
Reinz acting chief executive Rowan Dixon said the booming sales were due to house prices jumping to record heights in 2021.
"Persistently strong demand for residential property throughout 2021 resulted in a year of records and rapid price growth across the country — despite regulatory changes, interest rate increases and Covid-19 restrictions," he said.
It came as house prices leapt as high as 30 per cent year-on-year at points during 2021.
New Zealand's median sale house price hit $905,000 in December, while Auckland homes sold for a typical price of $1.29m.
Seven homes sold for $3m-plus in Hawke's Bay last year, a 133 per cent jump from three properties in 2020. Photo / 123rf
Record low interest rates throughout the Covid-19 pandemic helped fuel the price growth led by buyers rushing to get access to cheap home loans.
However, many pundits are now tipping house prices to have peaked in December.
They expect interest rates to continue rising into the near future and push up the cost of home loan repayments for families, while tougher new lending laws mean banks are less willing to give out further loans to new borrowers.
"Our December data does show signs of deceleration in terms of price growth," Dixon said.
However, given the strength of the housing market through 2020 and 2021, he was unwilling to predict a fall in prices.
Overall, in Auckland 19,877 homes sold for $1m-plus last year, compared to 13,188 in 2020.
In the rest of the country outside of Auckland, 10,996 homes sold for $1m-plus, up from 5072 a year earlier.
Dixon said that during 2021, every region in the country apart from just three - Auckland, Nelson and Otago - had twice as many homes selling for $1m or more than they did in 2020.
In addition to Manawatu/Whanganui, the regions with the strongest percentage increases in $1m-plus sales were:
• Hawke's Bay: 7 homes sold for $3m-plus, a 133 per cent jump from 3 properties in 2020
• Wellington: 35 homes sold for $3m-plus, a 133 per cent jump from 15 properties in 2020
There was also a 95 per cent jump in $5 million-plus properties sold across the country, from 147 in 2020 to 286 last year.
Auckland had 248 homes sell for $5m-plus, up 94 per cent on 2020.
Canterbury, meanwhile, had five $5 million-plus homes sell in 2021, compared to one in 2020, while Bay of Plenty, had nine properties sell for $5 million-plus compared to two in 2020.
