The number of house sales in Auckland dropped last month - one major realtor reporting its worst April since the global financial crisis in 2008.
But elsewhere prices are climbing much faster annually - Rotorua's average value is up nearly a third, and median prices in the capital have now passed the $600,000 mark.
First home buyer Brittany Hogan is hoping to get into the housing market early, but surging prices are making it harder than she expected.
She's 19, and has been saving for a house since she was 15.
"If I was looking outside of Wellington I would be able to put a deposit on a house by now, but unfortunately because of the prices in Wellington it's pushed me back a couple of years," Ms Hogan said.
One house in the Wellington suburb of Kilbirnie sold for $730,000 - that's 36 percent above Retail Value (RV).
"In the last 18 months we've had a short, sharp catch up," Wellington real estate agent Joe Lupi said.
The latest QV figures show:
- House values in the Wellington region soared 21 percent against the same time last year.
- Other hotspots are Rotorua, up 28 percent, Queenstown Lakes, up 24 percent and Hastings, up 23 percent.
- House values in Auckland rose 11 percent while Christchurch was up just over 1 percent.
But the heat in the market is easing.
QV says growth has plateaued nationwide over the last three months, because of LVR restrictions.
"It's slowed the rate of value growth, it's also taken some entry level investors out of the market, the other impact is that it's more difficult to get finance across the board," Andrea Rush said.
Mr Lupi says the market's less frenetic than it was.
"The hype has definitely gone out of the market, it has slowed a bit in terms of buyer demand."
He also says late last year, properties were attracting up to 20 tenders, but now that's down to between two and five.
"What's interesting about Wellington is that the market hasn't been as affected by the latest round of LVR restrictions," Ms Rush said.
There is some encouraging news for house-hunters like Brittany Hogan; a record one-third of sales in Wellington are going to first home buyers
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