Fears of coastal erosion are plaguing the upmarket Napier suburbs of Westshore and Ahuriri, with property values slumping by 12 per cent in three years, reports Bernard Carpinter in the Dominion Post.

Quotable Value regional manager David Nagel, who issued the figures at a Napier City Council meeting yesterday, said the fear of erosion along the coastline was a major factor in the fall of the average property value in the area to $486,000.

Hawke's Bay Regional Council has included Westshore in its coastal hazard zones and Mr Nagel said this would have affected property values.

The average Napier residential property increased in value by only 1.9 per cent in the three years to September 1, reaching $340,000.

Property value movements in Hastings would be similar, Mr Nagel said.

However, Hawke's Bay had started from a high-value level as the region, along with Queenstown and Nelson, had been at the front of the property boom in the past 10 years.

Regions that had been the first to boom would also be the first to flatten out, Mr Nagel said.

Within Napier, Westshore-Ahuriri was the only area to have a drop in average values.

Other upmarket suburbs showed only small increases - the Napier hill increased by 1.5 per cent to $477,000 - but some of the more affordable suburbs increased considerably.

The average Maraenui value was up 11.1 per cent to $175,000 and the biggest increase was in Pirimai - up 21 per cent to $249,000.

Industrial properties rose by 21 per cent, which Mr Nagel said reflected a shortage of industrial land throughout New Zealand.

Lifestyle-block values were little changed, up 3.3 per cent to an average $774,000.