The difference in value between three and four bedroom homes can range from $97,000 to more than $600,000 depending on where the property is located, according to property data company Cotality (formerly CoreLogic).
Cotality compared current median dwelling values for three bedroom homes with median values of four bedroom homes around the country and found the difference was significant.
Ruapehu in the central North Island was the only district in the country where the difference in values between two and three bedroom homes was under $100,000 ($97,264).
Ruapehu has one of the cheapest housing markets in the country.
At the other end of the scale, the difference between three and four bedroom values in Auckland's central suburbs, which has some of the country's most expensive real estate, was $601,000.
In the middle of that range with a difference that was above $300,000. were Rodney, North Shore and Manukau in Auckland, and Whakatane, Western Bay of Plenty, Waipa, Hastings, Mackenzie and Queenstown.
Dunedin and Upper Hutt were the only major urban areas where the price difference was under $200,000.
The difference shows that anyone looking to move up into a four bedroom home is likely to have to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars more than they would receive from the sale of a three bedroom home (all other things being equal), while for someone looking to downsize the reverse is true - they could free up hundreds of thousands of dollars of cash, or maybe just reduce the size of their mortgage, by trading down.
However Cotality also found that the value gap between three and four bedroom homes had declined over the last year, reflecting a generally soft property market.
The biggest decline in the "value gap" between three and four bedroom homes in the main centres was in Upper Hutt where it declined by 8% over the last year, followed by central Auckland at -5.1%.
The only main centres where the value gap increased over the last year were Franklin, on Auckland's southern fringe, +3% and Lower Hutt +0.1% - see the chart below for the main centre trends.
The decline in the value gap in most centres will of course mean that anyone trading down will not get quite as much as they could have a year ago, while those trading up should find it a bit easier.
"Past experience suggests that a flat/soft property market can be an opportunity to trade up, and of course mortgage rates are currently down, while there's plenty of choice for buyers too," Cotality Chief Property Economist Kelvin Davidson said.
Cotality Value Gap Between Three and Four Bedroom Homes and 12 Month Change
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