Lodge Real Estate managing director Jeremy O'Rourke wasn't surprised by QV figures after phenomenal price increases in the past three months.
"It has been a long time coming. Some of this is a lot of catch-up," he said.
One $146,000 illustration was a Seddon Road house which sold for $412,000 in October 2015 and again - for $558,000 - in June 2016.
Those hoping for something under $300,000 will have a trickier time.
Houses in that bracket made up 27 per cent of Lodge's city sales in May 2015 but they dropped to six per cent in May 2016.
"Prices have moved so significantly that the availability of property under $300,000 is really, really scarce," O'Rourke said.
Conversely, there was a dramatic increase in buying houses above $600,000, including Hamiltonians looking to upgrade.
And Aucklanders searching for value continued to zero in on Hamilton and Cambridge, he said.
Hamilton's lure was "twice the house they had before" with money still in the bank, Harcourts Hamilton director and general manager Brian King said.
But there is a word of caution for home owners feeling pleased about what their house is earning.
"People have got to remember they're buying and selling in the same market," King said.
First home buyers should get into the market as soon as possible, he said, but there were still good opportunities.
"We're certainly in a good cycle at the moment as far as buying and selling but, hey, it's not going to be like this forever."
Over the Kaimai Ranges, Tauranga city has seen a similar surge in prices - up 23.65 per cent on this time last year.
The average value there is now just below $600,000.
Average house values
Auckland region $842,142
Tauranga $599,915
Nationwide $590,909
Western Bay of Plenty $526,756
Wellington region $516,430
Hamilton $492,403
Politicians talk house values
The jump in house values didn't surprise Labour MP Sue Moroney, who said more needed to be built.
Home owners could feel wealthy on paper, she said, but it was a tough climate for first home buyers.
"Those of us who were fortunate enough to buy our hoses in a much kinder purchasing climate are also concerned about what that means for our children and for the coming generations."
She was also worried about flow on effects for renters who were "dropping out of the bottom end of the rental market".
The "housing boom" was spreading to smaller towns surrounding Hamilton, she said, bringing previously unheard of issues such as homelessness.
Hamilton East MP David Bennett pointed the finger at the Auckland housing boom.
"Two years ago, the Auckland market peaked so there has got to be some relativity there. We're effectively in the same region as Auckland and Tauranga," Bennett said.
"Secondly, there hasn't been enough supply in the market and part of that [problem] is that there hasn't been enough investment by [Hamilton City] Council."
The Government has offered up a $1 billion infrastructure fund for bigger builds - an interest-free loan for the bigger infrastructure needs, to be paid back within ten years.
From Stuff.co.nz