Waiheke Island might only be a 40-minute ferry trip from downtown Auckland but once you’re there you feel like you’re half a world away.
That meant that during lockdown, locals pulled up the drawbridge, and the property market stopped in its tracks. Now it is out-performing many other parts of Auckland, agents report.
“During lockdown we loved having a moat around us,” says Bayleys real estate agent Sherryn El Bakary. “Post-lockdown it seems that more people want to experience that too.”
“Covid-19 killed Waiheke Island’s property market during lockdown,” says Ray White Waiheke’s Matthew Smith. “We were able to write some deals but these were only for properties where the buyers had viewed them beforehand.
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OneRoof Valocity's Covid Index shows median house prices have already lifted nearly five percent in Palm Beach and over one percent in Onetangi. Photo / Getty Images
“Moving to Level 3 made a difference but people didn’t rush out to buy property. Now that lockdown is over, though, the amount of interest we’ve been getting has been crazy.”
OneRoof Valocity’s Covid Index shows that since lockdown in the more desirable parts of the island median house prices have already lifted, by 4.85 percent in Palm Beach and 1.02 per cent in Onetangi. Already this year a property sale in Onetangi achieved $9 million, another in the rural part of the island sold for $ $6.75million and Surfdale topped at $3.75 million.
Most of Smith’s listings are selling, many are seeing multiple offers, vendors are getting great prices, and the island’s agents are only limited by the lack of properties they have available to sell.
“As far as listings go, our numbers are about half what they were this time last year. Owners have obviously been scared to sell because they’ve been told that the market isn’t great. In fact, we’ve had a huge number of buyers and the result of not having enough stock means that our vendors have been doing really well.”
The story is the same across town. In June, Bayleys Waiheke saw a 67 per cent increase in sales compared with June 2019.
“During lockdown, many people got rattled,” says El Bakary. “As a result, we have many buyers who are looking for somewhere that’s safe as well as convenient. We haven’t had any cases of Covid-19 over here, so why not be somewhere safe that gives you the lifestyle you’ve always dreamed of too?”
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On exclusive development, Wawata Estate, buyers get lifestyle property with the estate's nature walks, services and security, maintained by the resident's society. Photo / Supplied
“We’ve had a lot of interest from Kiwi buyers who are looking for a local holiday home destination, because they can’t travel overseas,” says Smith. “There’s also been a shift in lifestyle choices. Many people are seriously looking at the lifestyle they’ve got versus the one that they want. Now that money has never been cheaper, more and more people are ready to make a change.”
Smith warns buyers against making decisions that don’t end up giving them the lifestyle they’re really looking for though.
“A lot of people buy lifestyle blocks for the ‘lifestyle’, then realise that they no longer have one because they spend all their time maintaining their property,” he says. Smith is marketing, Wawata Estate a 38-hectare property of 25 plots that has been designed so owners can enjoy that lifestyle experience, while only looking after the area around their house.
“Residents can enjoy the whole 94-acre estate like it’s their own property. There’s three kilometres of walkways through the estate, all of which are maintained by the residents’ society, full automation and security are all taken care of, 300 thousand native trees have been planted across the estate. And the coastal views are unbeatable.
“You literally get to build your dream home, move in and enjoy it. You don’t have to do anything.”
Interest for Waiheke property is coming from all angles.
“I’ve never seen so many enquiries from so many countries before,” says El Bakary. “As soon as lockdown was over, Bayleys had a huge response from not only New Zealand-based Kiwis but also New Zealanders who wanted to come home.”
Some buyers are so eager that properties are selling before they’ve been advertised.
“One property was listed at lunchtime, shown at 1pm, an offer was presented at 6pm, and it went unconditional a week later. In this case, the offer was more than what we’d had the property appraised for so the vendors just went for it. I didn’t even have time to organise a photo shoot.”
