Terralink says investors who over-extended themselves during the property boom are being hit hard by mortgagee sales.
The land and property information company says there were 247 forced sales in May, compared to 88 in the same month last year.
Managing director Mike Donald says 81% of the total mortgagee sales were for individuals or companies who owned more than one property. Only 19% were for the family home.
The worst affected region is Auckland.
Mr Donald says the numbers of mortgagee sales are on par with April, when they reached their highest level in 15 years.
He says the numbers are a sign that stress in the property market is not letting up. Preliminary figures already show mortgagee sales reached a new record in June.
Bad advice blamed
The Property Investors Federation blames bad advice for the number of mortgagee sales.
Vice president Andrew King says a lot of development companies held seminars during the property boom.
He says those companies were more interested in selling property than providing investors with balanced information.
