There's more confirmation that it's sellers' market for property with sentiment from real estate agents picking up on all fronts.

More motivated buyers, stronger prices and more activity from first home buyers and investors were all themes of this month's BNZ-Real Estate Institute of New Zealand survey.

BNZ chief economist Tony Alexander said the results were similar to the previous month's, with a net 18 per cent of agents now believing it was a seller's market.

"The shift in the New Zealand real estate market in favour of sellers happened in May and has largely strengthened since then."

However, there were still regions which were more of a "buyer's market," primarily Northland, Bay of Plenty, Manawatu/Wanganui, and Nelson-Marlborough-West Coast.

A strong net 41 per cent of agents perceived property prices to be rising and the smooth upward trend "speaks to the strength of the turnaround in pricing behaviour", Alexander said.

A firm net 25 per cent felt more investors were returning to the market and a net 39 per cent of agents had noticed more first-home buyers about.

However, a big jump in open home attendance was likely to be due to the seasonal spring surge in interest, Alexander said.

A net 37 per cent of agents reported seeing more people at open homes, up from 27 per cent in August.

Alexander said a rise in agents getting requests for appraisals , up from 2 per cent in August to 25 per cent this month, was worth watching to see if more stock was listed.

A similar report late last year had not seen a surge in listings.

Auctions appeared to be getting strong outcomes, with a record net 32 per cent of agents reporting rising auction clearances.

Alexander said that with interest rates set to remain low for some time, things were looking up for the property market.

"The housing market is likely to remain firm with assistance from rising construction costs and an underlying shortage of property - predominantly in Auckland."

- © Fairfax NZ News