New Zealand house prices values have risen at the fastest pace in eight years, driven by the overheated Auckland housing market.

They’re now about 27 per cent above the previous market peak in late 2007, according to state-owned agency Quotable Value.  National property values accelerated 10.1 per cent in the 12 months through July to an average $NZ527,760. ($A476,360.68)

Values in the Auckland region surged 18.8 per cent to $NZ855,672, the fastest pace since 2004, QV said.

Auckland values have climbed about 57 per cent since 2007. North Shore average property values topped $NZ1 million for the first time in the latest QV survey, joining Auckland city properties in achieving that distinction.

Demand for housing in Auckland, where migrants and investors are adding to competition for a stock of housing that isn’t keeping up with demand, is increasingly driving activity in the wider upper North Island.

“We are now seeing a definite upward swing in market activity in the upper North Island,” said QV spokeswoman Andrea Rush.

“This is especially evident in Hamilton, but also in Tauranga, Whangarei, and the Franklin, Hauraki and Waikato districts.

“Net migration remains at record highs and there are now incentives for new migrants to move to areas outside of Auckland, so this coupled with record low interest rates is likely to see continued upward pressure on home values as we move towards spring.”

In Hamilton, the average rose to $NZ390,113 and the QV House Price Index for the city is up 7.4 per cent year on year. Tauranga prices have risen 7.7 per cent in July from a year earlier to reach an average $NZ489,734.

Home values in Wellington rose two per cent year on year to reach an average $NZ546,481, while in Christchurch, values appear to be reaching a plateau, gaining just 3.1 per cent in the past year to average $NZ475,322.

Values in Dunedin rose 2.8 per cent to an average $NZ298,928 and in Invercargill, values slipped 0.1 per cent to an average $NZ207,367.

By Jonathan Underhill