Pāpāmoa Beach has recorded the city's most sales over the past 11 months - with a total value of more than $500 million.
Real Estate Institute of New Zealand data showed 785 homes were sold in Pāpāmoa Beach from June 2017 to May 2018 for a total $521,241,880.
Mount Maunganui ranked second with 556 homes sold, and Pyes Pa was third with 337 homes sold.
Te Puke was the wider Western Bay of Plenty's top-selling area, recording 170 sales worth $83,568,508.
Start your property search
EXPLORE LISTINGS IN PAPAMOA BEACH
Katikati was the second, recording 122 sales, and Waihi Beach was third with 97 sales.
Tauranga's lowest selling suburb was Matapihi which recorded only one sale.
REINZ chief executive Bindi Norwell said Pāpāmoa Beach's median price for the year ending May 2018 was now the same as Mount Maunganui's at $665,000.
Norwell said Pāpāmoa Beach was favoured by families thanks to the affordability of new homes built in the area.
"It is extremely close to the beach, it has good shopping facilities, including Fashion Island, and the Excelsa Centre is currently being upgraded in a $2.3 million refurbishment," Norwell said.
"The area has a new Catholic school being built to cater for the growing number of school-age children in the area."
Te Puke also offers opportunities for families.
"The strong business growth in the area means there are more job opportunities in the region than we have seen previously," she said.
"With median prices for the year-ending May 2018 of $490,000, it's significantly more affordable for families than some of the other more popular areas in the Bay of Plenty."
Norwell said property in Matapihi was "very tightly held" which meant less available listings.
Simon Anderson, chief executive of Realty Group which operates Eves and Bayleys, said the beach, good schools, shopping centres and proximity to town were crucial reasons for Pāpāmoa's popularity.
Anderson said while Pāpāmoa Beach was popular with families, many Aucklanders moved to the area to retire.
"Pāpāmoa has good resale value," he said. "They [Aucklanders] might have sold their homes for $1-$1.5m and can get a nice home for $800,000 at Pāpāmoa and have some cash left over."
Te Puke's attraction was its affordability, Anderson said. "Those who can't afford to live at the beach have options in Te Puke."
Longtime Pāpāmoa Beach resident Rosemarie Turley moved to the area from Hamilton 41 years ago when she built a three-bedroom home on an 850m2 section for $32,600.
"We moved here for the lifestyle. We wanted to be close to the beach ... we just loved it," Turley said.
The 65-year-old's children were "born and bred" in the area and had since moved overseas. "But they are always happy to come home," she said.
The population had increased in Turley's four decades living in the area.
"There are more and more people coming to the area. You used to drive around, and it was all paddocks, and now it is full of shopping centres and new developments, but the feel of Pāpāmoa remains."
Turley said it was the "beautiful beach" and its central location that attracted people to the area.
"It is a lovely place to be; people are so friendly and helpful. I will be here forever ... I don't think I will ever move," she said.
"The longer you live in a place, the more you put down your roots."
Papamoa Primary deputy principal Wayne Whitaker said the schooling in Pāpāmoa Beach was one of the drawcards for people moving to the area.
Many new families were moving to the area and enrolling their children at the primary school.
"People are doing their homework ... I think people are reading into what is happening in the area and saying, 'I want to be part of that culture'."
Whitaker moved to the area from Ōtumoetai eight years ago to be closer to the school.
The deputy principal said the proximity to the city "without being too close", and beach lifestyle were also reasons for people to settle there.
