The number of houses sold in Tauranga during August of this year is down 11.1 per cent, or 17 properties, compared to August 2015.

But when compared to July of this year, August house sales were up by 7.9 per cent (10 properties), according to the latest residential real estate data released by REINZ on Wednesday.

Tauranga house sales in August of this year were down compared to August 2015, but up in Mount Maunganui and Papamoa for the same period. File Photo.

The data also suggests more people are seeking a life by the sea as opposed to ‘inner city living', with August house sales in Mount Maunganui and Papamoa up 22.2 per cent (22 properties) on August 2015, as well as rising 12 per cent (13 properties) when compared to July of this year.

But first-home buyers won't find any comfort in knowing Tauranga's median house price during August was $544,500, up 13.7 per cent from $470,000 in August 2015. Across the harbour, the Mount and Papamoa's median price was $640,000, up 22.7 per cent from $495,000 last year.

REINZ Regional Director Philip Searle says though investor activity has continued to decline since the announcement of new LVR restrictions, first home buyer demand remains solid across the region.

'The shortage of listings remains acute in some parts of the region, with the limited availability of properties restricting buyer choice.”

Nationally, the median price rose 5.8 per cent ($27,000) to $492,000, but slipped back three per cent ($13,000) from its record high of $505,000 last month.

There's also been an 18 per cent decline in properties available for sale year-on-year across the country, and five regions have less than 12 weeks of supply, representing almost 70 per cent of sales volumes.

Of the regions, Wellington has the fewest properties for sale with just seven weeks of supply, closely followed by Otago with 10 weeks of supply and Auckland, Waikato/Bay of Plenty and Hawke's Bay with 12 weeks of supply.

The number of unconditional residential sales in August was 7527, which is up three per cent on July but down three per cent compared to August 2015.

While across New Zealand the total value of residential sales, including sections, was $4.481 billion in August, compared to $4.650b in August 2015 and $4.824b in July. For the 12 months ended August 2016 the total value of residential sales was $58.487b.