The median house price in the Bay of Plenty rose seven per cent in the year to March 2018, according to statistics released by REINZ.

The median price across the region is now $580,000, up from $541,660 at the same time last year.

The biggest increases in home values have been on Kawerau and Opotiki, where median house prices rose 40.5 per cent and 36.8 per cent in the last year, respectively.

The median house price in Kawerau is now $215,000, while in Opotiki it is $342,000.

Values rose slightly in Tauranga and Whakatane (3.5 per cent and 1.1 per cent, respectively), but fell in Rotorua (-2.3 per cent).

The median house price in Tauranga is now $650,000, while in Whakatane and Rotorua it's $369,000 and $345,000, respectively.

'The Bay of Plenty market remains strong in the higher value range and the increasing interest from first home buyers is continuing,” says REINZ regional director Philip Searle.

'The higher number of first home buyers is affecting the auction clearance rates. Agents are seeing more deals are being done with a longer due diligence covering everything from finance to toxicology reports. Overseas interest has dropped off and the few buyers still in the category are mostly ex-pat buyers.

'The total sales volume has increased compared with February, despite similar stock levels as March 2017, indicating more sales across all price brackets. There is no indication of any major changes in the following months.”