The "Asian invasion" stereotype is enduring, with more New Zealanders saying Asians are to blame for rising house prices, a new report shows.

The Asia New Zealand Foundation's latest survey on New Zealanders' perceptions of Asia and Asian people found 39 per cent of 1000 respondents agreed with the statement that Asian people were responsible for rising house prices, up from 33 per cent in 2013.

This view was most likely to be held by Auckland residents, at 54 per cent.

More people agreed that New Zealand was allowing too much investment from Asia, at 41 per cent up from 36 per cent in 2013, while there was less agreement that investment from Asia would have positive impacts on New Zealand's economy, at 64 per cent, down from 74 per cent in 2013.

Though more than half of respondents were positive about the impacts of immigration from Asia, a quarter believed that immigration would have negative impacts, and 22 per cent thought that immigration would have neither positive nor negative impacts.

Despite deepening concerns about investment from Asia and the influence of Asian buyers on the housing market, some survey findings suggested that New Zealanders felt more positive towards and connected with Asian people than in previous years.

For the the first time in five years, the survey showed an increase in New Zealanders saying they had "a lot" or "a fair amount" to do with Asian people and culture, up from 44 to 50 per cent.

The report said greater integration of migrants into New Zealand community life, increased visibility of Asian cultural events and celebrations and the influence of media stories were factors which helped to produce these feelings.

One respondent noted that events like the Malaysia Airlines tragedies could help people to see past ethnic and cultural differences, and perhaps increased sympathy or understanding among New Zealanders.

Asia New Zealand Foundation director of research Dr Andrew Butcher said housing and investment were clearly "sticking points" that many New Zealanders had trouble understanding.

People wanted someone to blame for inflated house prices, and in doing so did not always make the distinction between foreign buyers and Asian New Zealanders who had lived here for their whole lives, he said.

"They're looking at people they perceive to be foreigners but probably aren't, and saying, 'well, it must be their fault'."

NZIER principal economist Shamubeel Eaqub said there needed to be more transparency around the housing market so people would stop pointing the finger of blame at Asian buyers.

"We don't know for sure how much money is coming into New Zealand from other places because there is no restriction in New Zealand on purchases of residential property," he said.

"From some of the partial data we have seen, it's far less than 10 per cent. Most of the transactions in the housing market tend to be New Zealanders bidding up house prices against each other."

Hysteria around overseas investment into New Zealand was nothing new, Eaqub said.

"When the Americans were investing in the 1960s and 70s, then the Japanese in the 80s and early 90s, there was a lot of angst about all these new people coming in to buy all our stuff.

"The same thing is happening with the Chinese now. They're the new economic power."