“Prices at this level are also more common in smaller centres,” she said.
“Wairoa’s average house price is around half that of Napier, which creates more opportunities for buyers to pick up lower-cost homes.”
At the opposite end of the market, Hawke’s Bay’s most expensive residential sale in 2025 reached $5.15 million.
A waterfront luxury apartment in Ahuriri, Napier, sold for that amount in June, while a Havelock North property also sold for $5.15m in May.
The Ahuriri apartment, one of only 18 in the exclusive Customs Quay development, featured three bedrooms, three-and-a-half bathrooms, two living areas and spans more than 314sq m, plus a 58sq m covered terrace overlooking the inner harbour.
Residents also have access to shared facilities including secure basement parking and a recreational deck with a swim-spa pool, sauna, spa and outdoor kitchen under a retractable roof.
Fraser Holland, central region director at Sotheby’s International Realty, which handled the sale by sales associate Jacqui Taylor, said location and size were the key factors behind the high price.
He said properties at the top end of the market in Hawke’s Bay were often bought by high-net-worth retirees who still maintained business or investment interests but were drawn to the region’s lifestyle.
“Hawke’s Bay sits in what I would call middle New Zealand when it comes to premium property,” Holland said.
“It largely competes with Nelson-Tasman and parts of the Bay of Plenty, where high-value homes are still relatively attainable … compared with markets like Auckland or Queenstown.”
The figures highlight the wide range of property values across the region, from modest homes in smaller rural communities to multimillion-dollar properties in some of Hawke’s Bay’s most sought-after locations.
OneRoof spokesman Owen Vaughan said buyers at the very top and very bottom of the property market tended to be different from typical homeowners.
“It’s very hard to draw any firm conclusions about the market when you look at both extremes,” Vaughan told Hawke’s Bay Today.
“Most of those people that are looking for $5 million properties have very specific requirements and possibly aren’t really restricted by pressures that you would have on normal buyers, like interest rates, inflation or economic performance.”
At the lower end of the market, however, many buyers were cash purchasers acquiring properties that required significant work or land suitable for development, he said.
Across the wider housing market, Vaughan said Hawke’s Bay property prices had remained relatively flat in the past year.
“There have been a good number of sales, but that hasn’t translated into rapid price growth, and it’s unlikely that there will be a big uplift in prices this year.”
While that may frustrate some sellers, Vaughan said stable prices could help first-home buyers to get into the market.
Top Hawke’s Bay home sales in 2025
1. Customs Quay, Ahuriri, Napier. Residential – Apartments $5.15m
2. Gummer Rd, Havelock North, Hastings. Residential – Dwelling $5.15m
3. Customs Quay, Ahuriri, Napier. Residential – Apartments $5m
4. Customs Quay, Ahuriri, Napier. Residential – Apartments $4.75m
5. Waikoau Rd, Tutira, Hastings. Lifestyle – Improved $4.275m
Cheapest Hawke’s Bay home sales in 2025
1- State Highway 38, Frasertown Wairoa Country, Wairoa. Residential – Dwelling $56,650
2- Somerville St, Wairoa. Residential – Dwelling $80,000
3- Western Extension, Tuai/Ohuka, Wairoa. Residential – Dwelling $110,000
4- Racecourse Rd, Waipukurau and Surrounds. Residential – Dwelling $120,000
5- Spur Rd, Tuai/Ohuka, Wairoa. Residential – Dwelling $135,000
Rafaella Melo has more than 10 years of experience as a journalist in Brazil. She has worn many hats, from radio and TV presenter and producer to magazine editor before joining the Hawke’s Bay Today team as a multimedia journalist.