House prices and sales volumes are experiencing a summer surge with the median house price in Tauranga and Mount Maunganui increasing by more than 10 per cent in February.

In Mount Maunganui house prices rose from a median of $387,000 in January to $432,000 in February. The median house price in Mount Maunganui in February 2012 was $415,000.

Median house prices rose by more than 10 per cent in the last month.

In Tauranga prices rose from $320,000 in January to $360,000 - according to figures from the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand.

REINZ reports sale volumes in February increased by almost 40 per cent across the Bay of Plenty region compared to January.

Chief executive Helen O'Sullivan says the Bay of Plenty region is seeing a growth in sale volumes, although price growth across the region is patchy.

'Parts of the region, such as Taupo, are seeing improving demanded for properties below $450,000 although year on year growth is modest for both price and volumes.”

She says in the Eastern Bay of Plenty sales almost doubled with 24 properties sold in January to 47 properties in February.

Helen says the sales volume trend has eased sideways and the trend in the number of days to sell continues to ease.

The region's days to sell eased by three days in February compared to January, moving from 60 days in January to 63 in February.

Compared to February 2012, the number if days to sell improved by two. The average number of days to sell during February over the last 10 years has been 56 days.