Wellington's property market has become so hot that desperate buyers are dispensing with vital checks such as builders' reports, valuations and legal advice.

Auckland property investors, and others from around the globe, are buying up Wellington rentals, driving up prices in an already sizzling residential housing market.

Wellington's property boom continues to sizzle, with median house prices surging to a record high of $480,000 as competition for dwindling housing stock gets fierce.

Weakly positive house prices in October are being put down to uncertainty over the forming of the new Government.