Aucklanders are looking to Nelson to buy property as house prices continue to skyrocket.

Brad and Natalie Allam, both 29, moved from Auckland to Nelson to buy their first home after finding house prices in Auckland unaffordable.

The couple and their toddler Benji spent the first night in their brand new home in Nelson this week, a house that is costing them about half what they might have paid in Auckland.



They had budgeted around $500,000 when they started looking for a home, but the couple were rapt to find the house in Stoke for $368,000.

Alden Williams/Fairfax NZ Building and Housing Minister Nick Smith and new Nelson home owners Natalie and Brad Allam with their son Benji. The couple bought their Stoke home for less than $370,000.

"It wasn't till we got down here that we found out it was so much more attainable, we knew we could live more comfortably [in Nelson]. For that reason we are really happy with our decision to move from Auckland," said Brad.

They said a property for the same price in Auckland would not have compared to their house in Nelson. Brad said he knew of a much smaller two-bedroom unit on a cross-sectioned property in Auckland which had sold for more than $600,000.

Real Estate Institute of New Zealand statistics released on Tuesday showed the median price for a house in Auckland was $720,000 in April, while the median price for a house in Nelson was $403,000. Richmond's median price was recorded at $432,000.

Brad and Natalie have friends in Auckland who are also looking to buy in regions outside of the city because of sky-high house prices.

"Unless you are earning an extraordinary amount of money [the expensive housing market in Auckland] is going to push people to the smaller regions," said Natalie.

The couple are expecting their second child, and have both found stable jobs in the region - Natalie is centre manager at Gymnastics Nelson and Brad is the director of sport at Garin College.

Living in "grassroots New Zealand" was another drawcard for the couple. Having a backyard for their children and getting away from the hustle and bustle of Auckland appeared increasingly attractive as the couple struggled to find a home they could afford there.

"The outdoor lifestyle in Nelson and having Kaiteriteri and Tahunanui at your doorstep is really nice," said Natalie.

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Despite buying a house much cheaper than either had expected, they also benefited from the HomeStart grant which the Government introduced in April.

Housing Minister Nick Smith said the scheme had proven popular so far, with three times as many applications by first home buyers in April compared to March. More than 2000 applications had been received by Housing New Zealand since the scheme had launched.

It allows couples who are buying their first home a grant of up to $20,000 if they are buying a brand new house or $10,000 if they are buying an existing home. The Allams were the first Nelson recipients of the HomeStart grant to move into their new home.

Smith said the scheme would aim to help more than 2500 people into their first home in the Nelson region.

While Auckland was experiencing "growing pains", central and local government moves to build more affordable houses in the city would alleviate some of the demand, he said.

In the meantime, he was not concerned about people leaving Auckland and buying property in smaller regions.

"There's quite a strong migration flow into Auckland so it's good if we can take some of that pressure off," he said.

First home buyers are not the only people looking to buy a cheaper property outside of Auckland.

Bayleys Nelson director Graeme Vining said there had been a noticeable increase in interest from Auckland buyers who had already owned homes in the city. The firm had sold four Nelson homes to Aucklanders last month.

"The interest coming from Auckland is above average. I think it's a combination of prices going up in Auckland and an aging population wanting to retire in a less expensive environment," said Vining.

Green Door principal Mike Harvey said the firm had seen increased interest from Auckland buyers recently.

"Without a shadow of a doubt it's happening, I talked to two people [from Auckland] this morning alone who were interested," he said.

Harvey said the movement in the Auckland housing market was causing a "ripple effect" where people were opting to invest in property in the regions outside of Auckland instead of within the growing city.

"Basically a whole heap of cash has been dropped in the Auckland [property market] and as that drops it ripples out to provinces," he said.

"What we are seeing now is people that have done well on a property in Auckland now wanting to leave with their kids and come to a region [like Nelson] where it's feasible to get good prices."

He said about 25 per cent of recent inquiries at the firm had come from people in Auckland.