"Although there hasn't really been a huge increase in numbers of sales there has been a lift in confidence in people coming in and buying and building some quality properties."
Ms Hamill said the market still favoured home-buyers.
"The market is a bit more stable but I still think it's a buyers' market," she said.
"However, properties are going on the market with more confidence and we are turning over at a faster time frame. It's quite interesting. We have had quite a few multiple offers on properties and that is always a sign in a market."
Countrywide, residential property prices for January increased by 5.7 per cent over the past year.
According to data released by QV, average residential property prices were 19.2 per cent above the previous market peak of late 2007.
QV national spokeswoman Andrea Rush said that Auckland's property market played a big role in value increases throughout the country.
"The nationwide increase in values is mainly being driven by Auckland which has seen a continued acceleration in values," she said.
"However, the other main cities and many provincial centres are now also showing more moderate increases in value as well."
Ms Rush said some potential vendors were, however, unable to sell because they were having difficulty finding a new place to buy due to a lack of listings.
"Following a big month of sales in December there remains a shortage of properties listed for sale and this is continuing to put pressure on values and also on buyers, particularly in Auckland and Hamilton where many who are keen to buy cannot find a suitable property."
Ms Rush said lowering interest rates would make things easier for buyers.
"Interest rates have come down again and there have been suggestions a possible lowering of the Official Cash Rate this year could make borrowing even more affordable," she said.
"However, for first-home buyers, the requirement for a 20 per cent deposit due to the Loan-to-Value Ratio restrictions is still too great a hurdle for many." NZME.
