Many Eastern Bay of Plenty locals who sold their rural homes in September would have been left smiling all the way to the bank.

New REINZ Residential Property Data shows last month's median house price for rural Eastern Bay was $364,000 – up 36.5 per cent ($97,250) on August and 42.7 per cent ($109,000) on September 2015.

The number of houses sold in the Eastern Bay was also up 4.4 per cent on August (68 to 71) and also 4.4 per cent on September 2015 (68 to 71).

Elsewhere in the Bay, Tauranga's September median house price was $553,000 (up 17 per cent on September 2015), Rotorua's was $300,000 (up 13.4 per cent) and Mount Maunganui/Papamoa's was $657,500 (up 13 per cent).

When compared to August, Mount Maunganui/Papamoa's median price was up 2.7 per cent (from $640,000), up 1.6 per cent in Tauranga (from $544,500), but down 7.7 per cent in Rotorua (from $325,000).

Across most of the region median prices continued to rise in September, but aside from rural Eastern Bay, the number of houses sold was down when compared to the same month last year.

'Investor activity has continued to decline since the announcement of new Loan-To-Value restrictions, although underlying first home buyer demand remains solid across the region,” says REINZ Regional Director, Philip Searle.

'Sales volumes appear to have peaked…section sales are also rising, indicating an increasing preference for new builds in the face of the new LVR restrictions.”

Compared to September of last year, the number of houses sold in Mount Maunganui/Papamoa was down 30.5 per cent (141 to 98), down 6.8 per cent in Tauranga (161 to 150), and down 10.2 per cent in Rotorua (128 to 115).

Compared to August, house sales were also down 19 per cent in Mount Maunganui/Papamoa (121 to 98), and down 17.3 per cent in Rotorua (139 to 115), but up 10.3 per cent in Tauranga (136 to 151).

To see the latest REINZ Residential Property Data visit: www.reinz.co.nz