Also, all of Dunedin's outlying areas; Peninsula and Coastal, Taieri, Dunedin South, Central and North also bettered not only the national average but all the other major centres. The outlying areas produced annual gains in a range from 12.8% right up to 15%.
While investors and first-home buyers appeared to be seeing plenty of value in Dunedin prices, the spectre of the possible effects of the proposed capital gains tax is yet to be recognised.
Auckland booked a 0.9% decline on values compared with February last year, Tauranga was up 2.6%, Hamilton up by 5.8%, Wellington had risen 7.9% and Christchurch lagged at just 0.1%.
Quotable Value's general manager David Nagel said out of all the main centres, Dunedin was continuing to see strong value growth, posting an average city value of $449,023.
''The area continues to attract a broad range of first-home buyers and investors due to its value for money,'' he said.
''Interestingly, investors appear to remain fairly active,'' he observed.
Mr Nagel said QV would be closely watching how investor behaviour changed in the coming months, once more certainty around the Government's stance on the recommendations put forward by the Tax Working Group, recommendations which included an up to 33% tax on any second house.
Queenstown Lakes values were up 2.6% during the past quarter, to $1.20million, which was matched or bettered by several Auckland suburbs, with eastern Auckland city top at $1.55million.
QV's senior consultant in Dunedin, David Paterson, said there remained strong demand for properties up to $400,000, with multiple offers still a common scenario.
''With such demand, offers are often above expected value levels and this can cause problems securing finance,'' he said.
Around the various markets in the South Island, Southland led the way in quarterly growth, rising by 7.1%, followed by the Dunedin Taieri area up 6.1% and Dunedin South up 4.3%.
Mr Paterson said Dunedin Taieri led the way in annual growth, up 15%, followed by Dunedin South up 14.9% and Dunedin Central, up by 14.3%.
Mr Nagel said most of New Zealand's more affordable, smaller provincial towns continued to have solid value growth, while Auckland was still recording a slight drop in value levels.
He said while Dunedin continued to have the strongest value growth out of the main centres, the Wellington market remained busy.
