CoreLogic senior research analyst Kelvin Davidson said people had been attracted to Rotorua's lifestyle and lower property values.
Davidson said people moving home and mortgaged investors had been more stable in Rotorua, so more first-home buyers had come on to the market.
"Access to Kiwisaver to fund the deposit has been a big factor for first-home buyers and this extra cash will have enabled them to pay that bit more, and keep the overall market rising," he said.
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OneRoof editor Owen Vaughan said there was a bigger share of affordable suburbs in Rotorua.
Vaughan said the best performing suburb, Pomare, rose $51,500 in value.
First National principal and Rotorua REINZ spokeswoman Ann Crossley said the city was "well over due" for a correction in Rotorua's house prices.
"Our prices have lagged. What we have has in an extended period of growth based on national issues ... and a lack of supply," she said.
"But there is nothing there to fix our lack of supply."
Crossley believed a population increase, lack of supply due to holiday rentals and AirBnBs and an increase in first-home buyers had contributed to a rise in the market.
"There has been some job security so first-home buyers have been keen to buy," she said.
She said the most notable thing in the market was investor interest had cooled on the back of uncertainty of government property changes.
Rotorua's best performing suburb:
Pomare
October 2017: $449,700
October 2018: $501,200
Change: $51,500 (11.5%)
