Southland's real estate market has had some of the biggest percentage increases in its median house price and growth rate in the country, according to the latest industry data for the month of May.

The Real Estate Institute of New Zealand's latest figures show Southland on the top of the list on some data points that take the pulse of New Zealand's housing market.

REINZ chief executive Bindi Norwell said Southland's median house prices from May increased 16.7% from the year prior. That put it second only to Gisborne, which had a staggering 54.4% year-on-year growth in its median price.

It's part of a larger trend of median house prices rising across 11 out of 16 regions in New Zealand. 

Ms Norwell said despite signs of optimism in the market, “with median prices increasing in many parts of the country, real estate agents are still telling us that access to finance from the banks and saving that 20% deposit is impacting on some buyers’ ability to purchase a property."

Southland also came in second on REINZ's own House Price Index (HPI) for New Zealand, which measures the changing value of property in the market.

In May, the Manawatu/Whanganui region again had the highest annual growth rate, a 15.5% increase to a new record high of 3,046, followed by Southland with an annual growth rate of 14.1% to 2,899.

In third place was Otago with a 9.9% annual increase to a new record high of 2,921.

Across New Zealand, the total number of properties available for sale nationally increased by 5.8% from 24,477 to 25,895.

However, Southland was one of the regions with the biggest percentage decrease in inventory, with a 13.3% drop from 488 to 423 properties. 

The number of homes sold for less than $500,000 across New Zealand fell from 42.3% of the market (3,328 properties) in May 2018 to 39.7% of the market (2,884 properties) in May 2019.

The number of properties sold in the $500,000 to $750,000 bracket increased from 28.5% in May 2018 (2,247 properties) to 31.0% in May 2019 (2,250 properties).

At the top end of the market, the percentage of properties sold for $1 million or more fell from 14.3% in May 2018 (1,123 houses) compared to 13.4% in May 2019 (976 houses).