The median house price for the region, which includes Dunedin but excludes Queenstown, was $246,000 - 6% better than the June median and 7.7% higher than in July last year.
While the news was pleasing, Reinz southern area spokeswoman Liz Nidd said it did not indicate a substantial lift in the market.
An analysis of sales in Dunedin showed there was a 4% increase in the number of homes over $400,000 sold last month and that was enough to push the median up, she said yesterday.
While lower than in June, the number of sales recorded in Dunedin for the month was good, she said.
"It was 19 more than the same time last year. July is traditionally quite a quiet month [when] we're still very much in winter mode."
Strong sales had led to Dunedin's stock of houses on the market being "critically low" at 885, Mrs Nidd said.
"This time last year the number was in excess of 1000. We are seeing multiple offers for attractive and reasonably priced properties."
Nationally, there were 5907 unconditional sales last month, a small decrease on June's figures but a 19.9% increase on July last year.
