Young couples desperate to get on the property ladder are moving south. And no wonder.
Generation Y, those aged under 28, could become ''property orphans'', never owning their own home, according to a study by data analytics company, Veda.
Booming house prices, driven particularly in Auckland as Christchurch, and coupled with the Reserve Bank of New Zealand introducing loan-to-value ratio (LVR), meant that generation have been unable to save the required 20% deposit.
So meet two couples: Rachel and Gerrard Pile, formerly of Christchurch, and Io and Sara Vehua, formerly of Auckland.
Both couples have moved to Dunedin after, they say, they were shut out of each property market. Now, they couldn't be happier.
Mrs Pile said the couple had been renting in Christchurch, saving enough for a 5% deposit, but after the earthquakes they needed at least twice that to secure a $600,000 home around Lincoln or Prebbleton.
The aftermath of the earthquakes meant the couple needed specialist geotechnical and engineering reports on any property.
One home they coveted was ruled out by the banks as it ''was a few millimetres out on the floor''.
''One day I said: 'Why don't we move down to Dunedin to be near your family?','' she said.
A year ago, and just a fortnight after they got married, they moved into their own paradise, a half-acre section (0.2ha) with three-bedroom brick home, for just $250,000, in the suburb of Sunnyvale.
''We were incredibly surprised what we could get with our money.
''[In Christchurch] we were looking at old weatherboard villas that needed fully renovating, and often needed structural work ... But in Dunedin we got a beautiful brick and tile home, which has handcrafted everything inside.
''It is fantastic. Our mortgage is far lower than we could ever have imagined.''
The couple, aged in their 30s, have gone from possible property orphans to expecting to pay off the house before retiring.
She also believed the couple could get capital gains from the property, with neighbouring homes already attracting good sales.
Asked if more people should move south, she replied: ''That is a double-edged sword really''.
''A lot of people will stay in the areas they are in because they are scared of the unknown, [to] move away from family, jobs, start a new life somewhere else''.
However, within weeks, the couple found jobs paying similar to what they were earning in Christchurch.
Home ownership also felt like a distant dream for the Vahua family.
Four years ago, Sara and Io Vahua moved from the Cook Islands to Auckland to live with a family member.
Saving $10,000 was not enough to enter the Auckland market, ''so we just decided we had enough one day and drove down here''.
''I was originally born [in Dunedin] and I had a brother here, so that helped.''
The couple - aged in their early 30s and who have two children - bought their first home in Green Island almost two years ago for $150,000.
''We had always wanted to buy a house but we didn't think owning one in New Zealand was possible.''
''I also think it is a lot nicer down here to raise kids.
''In Auckland, everything was so far away and we found it impossible to take the kids places each day, so we hardly went anywhere.''
A Roost home loan affordability index for first-home buyers calculated for Dunedin it would take an individual 5.7 years to save a 20% deposit.
