If you think Tauranga city traffic is getting worse, that it's taking more time to get to work, the queues are longer and driving in Tauranga is increasingly diabolical - you would be right.

The latest Infometrics data finds traffic in Tauranga city increased by 4.7 per cent over the year ending September 2017 - an increase that is roughly double the national average.

But the traffic growth has tapered off compared with the previous data years; the year to the March and the June quarters, when Tauranga traffic growth was running at about 10 per cent, says Priority One communications manager Annie Hill.

'There has been a lot of growth. Also bear in mind a lot of the congestion is due to the roadworks happening around Bayfair and most recently I've noticed the test change going out towards Welcome Bay and Ohauiti.”

Annie says she used to commute to work before 7am and leave shortly after 4pm – and those are now rush hour times.

'I think people's behaviour is changing. They're changing routes to try and get there faster. They are changing the time they leave and arrive at work to try and find that sweet spot.

'So I think some of those things have compounded the high increase in traffic. Also the statistics that we gather looks at a number of points throughout the city. So it is how cars move in and out of the city as well.”

Infometrics uses council and NZ Transport Agency data from traffic counters.

The traffic volume figure is included in a raft of indicators showing Tauranga's economy is booming across all sectors except house sales, where there was a 23 per cent fall for the September year. The fall across the western bay was 26 per cent, against a national drop in house sales of 17 per cent.

But other figures show there is little relief in sight for commuters. The number of residential building consents has grown by 4.9 per cent over the past year, while the value of non-residential consents has surged 49 per cent.

At $228m in the September year, the value of non-residential consents was at its highest level for more than a decade.

Vehicle registrations continue to increase, up 8.4 per cent for the year, while data from Marketview shows that electronic card spending on retail purchases in Tauranga grew by 5.7 per cent in the September year.

Strong tourist inflows and guest night stays in the city have helped to boost spending. Infometrics estimates that the number of Airbnb properties in Tauranga has risen by 125 per cent over the past year.

Infometrics' provisional estimate for GDP showed growth of 4.3 per cent in the September year. This ranks Tauranga 7th out of 67 territorial authorities, only surpassed by a handful of areas in the lower North Island and the lower South Island. National average GDP growth in the September year was 2.5 per cent.

While house prices continued to climb for the year ending September 2017, sales volumes in Tauranga fell 23 per cent, and 26 per cent across the Bay of Plenty.

The decline is national, with the country as a whole recording a 17 per cent drop in sales volumes for the year.

Although some further weakness in the housing market is anticipated, in line with general upper North Island trends, there will be some offset. The city's labour market is robust. The unemployment rate is under five per cent and the number of Jobseeker Support Recipients has fallen by 7.6 per cent over the past year.

Population growth is strong and will also help underpin housing demand. The city received a net total of 969 new international migrants in the September year, and its overall population rose by 3300 in the June year.

That equated to a population growth rate of 2.6 per cent, the 11th fastest amongst 67 territorial authorities across NZ.