"We have been asked to put together a number of appraisals ... to banks and lawyers for mortgagees."
This "spike" could be due to a lapse in the market, he suggested.
"Things in real estate get cyclical and ... there is quite a long time period when somebody does get in trouble with their mortgage repayments for the bank to go through the process."
Properties currently undergoing forced sales reflected events of six to nine months ago, he said.
Nationally, the number of mortgagee sales slumped to a four-year low in the three months to December.
There were 461 forced sales - 11 per cent fewer than during the previous three months and 24 per cent fewer than the same quarter in 2011.
Forced sales for the 2012 year totalled 2106, 30 per cent down on 2009 at the height of the recession.
Terralink managing director Mike Donald said Auckland's property market experienced the largest drop.
In 2007, 42 per cent of foreclosures occurred in Auckland. This declined to 21.5 per cent in the December 2012 quarter.
Auckland's buoyant property market was credited for the fall.
"The supply and demand situation in Auckland means any financially distressed home owners there have a much better chance of selling their home quickly, and at a good price," Mr Donald said.
"Consequently, they are much less likely to face a forced sale by the lender."
While Auckland mortgagee sales have declined, a wider regional breakdown shows forced sales were up in Marlborough, Taranaki, Waikato, Canterbury, Nelson and the Bay of Plenty.
About 78 per cent of mortgagee sales occurred in areas beyond Auckland during the December quarter - up significantly on 2007 figures.
Meanwhile, investor owners - those who own between three and five properties - accounted for nearly a third of mortgagee sales in the December quarter, slightly up on the previous period.
In contrast, individual "mum and dad" property owners made up just 15 per cent of forced sales as fewer cash-strapped families lost their homes in foreclosures.
Mr Donald said the downward trend indicated "an end to the volatility which has characterised the last four years".
"This is encouraging news for property owners after a long period of difficulty and pressure."
New Zealand Bankers Association chief executive Kirk Hope said mortgagee sales made up a "tiny fraction" of the total mortgage market.
"Of the 1.4 million residential mortgages in New Zealand, there were 2106 mortgagee sales in 2012.
"Mortgagee sales account for less than 0.2 per cent of all mortgages."
Those in financial difficulty should contact their banks immediately, he said.
Mortgagee Sales
2011 December quarter Wanganui 11, NZ 607
2012 September quarter Wanganui 11, NZ 516
2012 December quarter Wanganui 9, NZ 461
Source: Terralink International
APNZ
