Mortgagee sales increased in May, and more of the properties sold up were homes rather than rental or commercial properties.
Figures from property information company Terralink International show there were 264 mortgagee sales in May, 17 more than the same month last year.
Terralink managing director Mike Donald says 50% of mortgagee sales in May 2009 were for properties owned by an individual, rather than a business.
That rose to 62% in May this year, and one in five of those sales was by someone who lost their only home.
Mr Donald says property owners from the Bay of Plenty, Waikato and Manawatu were hit the hardest.
There were 31 mortgagee sales in the Bay of Plenty in May, double the previous month.
In Manawatu there were 21 forced sales, compared to 12 the month before, while in Waikato there were 51 forced sales, up from 28 in April.
