A proposed $5000 rates remission for those building their first home in Wellington has received a mixed response from builders, who fear it will do little to boost the supply of new homes in the city.

An Auckland house marketed to first home buyers with a price tag of nearly $1 million is not unrealistic in the current market, experts say.

Even million-dollar properties are not immune from a slowdown in Auckland, new data from the Real Estate Institute says.

There is going to be "a lot of building" at Te Rapa Gateway Business Park in the next 18 months to two years, NAI Harcourts sales consultant Theo de Leeuw says.

A centralised database to record information about earthquake-damaged houses is needed to protect potential buyers, says a Christchurch project manager.

Homeowners are being warned not to panic as the property market flattens.

Modular homes are on the rise as homeowners priced out of the market see it as a cheaper and more adaptable new build.

The median house price in Palmerston North has increased only a flicker in the last month, but competition for houses remains intense, with most selling well above the asking price.

Predictions of the building boom peaking this year have been pushed out to 2020, according one of the industry's foremost reports.

Almost three-quarters of Australians expect mortgage rates to be higher in the next 12 months but it hasn't stopped a growing number of first home buyers entering the market.