The 34 year old star took time out from filming World War II drama Home by Christmas in Wellington to view some properties on North Island.
He currently has a property in Venice Beach, a trendy area west of Los Angeles, but says that he wants somewhere calmer where he can escape when not involved in filming and its associated work.
He has been looking at beach properties to the north of the island and around his hometown of Auckland.
'I have wanted to get a place back here for the last few years and would love to have a little home here. I haven't yet found the right place but will continue to look and take my time,' he said.
'There are many aspects of living in the United States that I thoroughly enjoy but, as they say, there's no place like home and I think that is especially true of New Zealand,' he continued.
'I have an intense love of this land, and that connection to the countryside and coastal beauty stays with me no matter where I go,' he added.
But he does not intend to spend all his time in New Zealand when he does find the right property as being in Hollywood is right for his career.
He first rose to fame when he starred alongside Naomi Watts in hit 2002 horror movie The Ring. Two years later, he appeared in action movie Torque and played Will Darcy in Bride and Prejudice, a comedy loosely based on Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.