Frankton man Brian Burne has been fending off developers with million-dollar pitches for his property.

The three-quarters of an acre (about 3000 square metres) in the central Hamilton suburb is a prime piece of land ideally suited for nine or ten homes, he guesses.

Positioned between a kindergarten and Frankton Primary - and with Swarbrick Park at its back door - it's enough space for Burne to grow his spuds, tomatoes, grapes and humungous lemons.

But the claimed oldest Massey St resident isn't selling - not even for the cool million he was offered in September, just one of many offers from eager developers and real estate agents he's rebuffed.

"We've told them we're not going to sell. We've got everything we want here."

He expects more knocks on the door ... but they might be a while coming.

After a hot Hamilton housing market of 2017, those in the industry say things have cooled, at least slightly.

And while demand for developable land in the central city remains high, developers say sellers' price expectations appear slow to catch up.

Assured Property Investments director John Kenel said the frenzy of early 2017 had abated in the past three months.

"It's normalising, probably. Where we've been for some of the last couple of years is abnormal - it's been frantic. We're probably going from overdrive back to fourth gear."

Kenel works exclusively on infill projects - developing existing properties within the city - and after treading carefully through the heated market, bought three sites in December.

"Finally some of the vendors are starting to realise, yes, there has been an adjustment.

"I've found it easier to find development sites - where the numbers stack up - where I can build."

In St Andrews, developer Mark Holland has demolished a house on a large section to make way for three duplexes - six homes all up.

The demand for infill buildings is there. Holland has sold all but 10 of another 145 townhouses built in central Hamilton, but there are few of the right undeveloped properties available.

"The odd one will pop up, but what you're having to pay at the moment, it's potentially too expensive."

While the market has slowed, the prices are still going up. Trade Me showed a 6.2 per cent increase in Waikato property prices in December 2017 compared with the year before.

"The vendor cannot actually have the development margin as well … that's why a few blocks are sitting around," Holland said.

Cornerstone Developments owner Mike Callagher agrees. He said vendors asking for big dollars have missed the boat.

"The market is at a point where it's creating more opportunity for people. There's not that rush to buy."

Lodge Real Estate general manager of rentals David Kneebone said expectation from those selling has been "a little bit high".

"In the last three or four months, the vendors and purchasers are being more realistic, and the vendors are still getting premiums."

Building duplex units remained the most popular with developers, and two-bedroom units with internal garage access were certainly selling.

"The market's possibly slowed down a little bit along with the general market, but certainly if those sorts of developments are priced right, they are getting snapped up," Kneebone said.

Hamilton City Council city growth manager Kelvyn Eglinton said infill housing was essential for the city's growth plans, and had so far exceeded hopes.

The council had set an infill housing target of 50 per cent of all growth, but it has been averaging 53 per cent in the past year.

Eglinton said it wasn't just developers driving the infill growth, but homeowners subdividing their existing properties to help pay off the mortgage.

"The district plan enables that, and that's been hugely successful."

The market has softened, he said, and council does project the rate of infill growth to drop to 40 per cent of the total. But there remains plenty of potential.

"There's still upwards of 14 years' supply, if 50 per cent of growth goes into infill."