Rotorua's cheapest and most expensive house of 2017

A three-bedroom property with a private jetty on the edge of Lake Rotoiti is Rotorua's most expensive house. Photo / File

A three-bedroom property with a private jetty on the edge of Lake Rotoiti which sold for $1.55 million is the most expense Rotorua house sale recorded so far this year.

The latest data from CoreLogic shows the house was sold in March for $405,000 above its CV while the second biggest sale was also on State Highway 30 next to Lake Rotoiti in March and fetched $1.45m - $699,000 more than its CV.

A sale at Okere Falls took third place and sold for S1.35m which was $605,000 above its CV.

Meanwhile, the most affordable house was sold in Fordlands for $65,000 - and for half of its CV - in what the Rotorua Daily Post understands was a private sale.

Steve Lovegrove, principal of Professionals Rotorua which sold the $1.55m house, said it was an ''exceptional sale for an exceptional house''.

Features included a freehold lawn to lake section, private jetty, launching ramp and double boatshed with direct water access and a self-contained boatman's cottage.

Meanwhile, the impressive three-bedroom house had two living areas, two ensuites and separate bathroom with an internal access garage and electronic gates.

According to REINZ figures for the year to the end of November there were only six residential sales more than $1m in Rotorua.

Lovegrove said the top end of the market had slowed in 2017 as the Auckland market had dampened, there were not as many Aucklanders cashing up and money from the banks ''is not as free-flowing''.

''At the high-price end we are finding buyers are being a lot more cautious in what they are spending and they are thinking longer and harder about what they want.''

However, the Professionals had some strong sales over $1m in lifestyle/rural properties, he said.

''Often unless it's at the lakes often people will switch to lifestyle.''

CoreLogic Head of Research Nick Goodall said Rotorua had enjoyed a strong growth phase over the last two and a half years, increasing 50 per cent from June 2015 to the end of November 2017.

''This is similar to Tauranga over the same period and slightly more than similar sized centres such as Napier, Hastings and Whangarei.''

Goodall said first-home buyers had managed to hold their own, accounting for 20.5 per cent of sales in 2017 (compared to 19.7 per cent in 2016).

Movers, either locally or from another region accounted for 26.1 per cent of sales, while mortgaged multiple property owners bought 27.7 per cent compared to non-mortgaged multiple property owners at 12.5 per cent.