Interest soars in regional houses: realestate.co.nzDAVID UNWIN/FAIRFAX NZ Penelope Peck, a recent home buyer in Palmerston North. Industry website realestate.co.nz shows that in February the top regions where people were searching for houses were the Hawke's Bay, Otago, Gisborne and Manawatu-Whanganui, where asking prices are still catching up. In Hawke's Bay you could get an architecturally designed three-bedroom home on more than 7.5 hectares of farmland, including a paddock for horses. Hot regions' asking prices:* Otago, down 5.5 per cent to $339,334; interest in listings up 8.6 per cent. * Gisborne, up 5.6 per cent to $323,075; interest up 17 per cent* Hawke's Bay, up 0.4 per cent to $415,161; interest up 7.5 per cent.

Source: Stuff February 28, 2017 21:05 UTC