House prices in some of New Zealand's holiday hotspots have jumped more than 50 per cent in a year, according to the Real Estate Institute.

The strongest median increase came in the Bank's Peninsula township of Akaroa where prices were up 58 per cent year-on-year to $830,000 for the three months to November, compared to $525,000 in the same period last year.

The Western Bay of Plenty township of Waihi Beach was second with an increase of 50 percent from $700,000 to $1,050,000.

Sales volumes for Waihi Beach also increased significantly from 14 to 40.

Some holiday hotspots' median price did decrease, such as Onetangi on Waiheke Island, where prices dropped 17 percent from $1,105,000 to $921,000.

Although prices went down in the Waiheke location of Onetangi, sales volumes were up from seven to 14.

REINZ chief executive Bindi Norwell says that is likely due to many of the properties on Waiheke have been used as an Airbnb and these may not have seen the same returns throughout the year, meaning owners are opting to sell instead.

Norwell says the increase in holiday home prices comes as no real surprise.

"Considering overseas holidays aren't an option for many New Zealanders this year, and Kiwis are instead looking to our own shores for a more long-term option.

"Additionally, with the various lockdowns that New Zealanders have experienced this year, we've noticed that individuals and families have taken a closer look at their living situations and some have decided that they now have the option to relocate to a beach-side destination and work remotely, or have a secondary/holiday home that they can 'escape' to, should we find ourselves in a similar lockdown situation again.

"New Zealand's most expensive holiday hotspot of Omaha, also saw median prices increase 22 percent year-on-year to $2,151,000, up from $1,765,000, however, this was down from its peak earlier this year of $2,350,000 for the three months ending April 2020.”

-RNZ.