The owners of three-bed bach in Coromandel beach town of Whangamata are still in shock after a buyer paid $1.24 million for the house at auction this weekend.
Ray White agent Paula Lucas, who marketed the home, said there were nine registered bidders for at 211A Barrowclough Road, a smartly presented seven-year-old house which sits a block back from the surf beach.
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“It is hard to get relatively new builds around that $1 million mark. We appraised it for $940,000 to $980,000 but it’s nothing to do with our appraisal skills – we had offers within a couple of days, so brought the auction forward by two weeks,” she said.
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“The vendors are still in shock. It’s probably the highest number of bidders we’ve had.”
Lucas, who has been selling real estate in the town for a number of years with her husband Tony, said that the under-bidders intended to put a pre-auction offer on a new listing, in an effort to beat the rush.
“It stopped at lockdown, but then the phones just started ringing. People realised they could work from home. Some were downsizing, some who couldn’t go overseas.”
211A Barrowclough Road, in Whangamata, sold for $1.24 million under the hammer. Photo / Supplied
She did note that the young families moving to the town were now finding it hard to get on the property ladder as buyers from out of town chase holiday homes.
Fellow Ray White agents Andrew McGee and Lindsay Turnbull also sold three out of five properties under the hammer at the company’s auction rooms at the weekend, with a fourth selling immediately afterwards and a fifth attracting multiple offers.
McGee estimated that about 150 people attended the auction, spilling out onto the street.
“The number of attendees is extraordinary, increasing at each auction since August 2019. We've had very high demand, but then it’s been extreme demand in the last two months. I’ve never seen anything like it,” he said.
With eight registered bidders, 113B Williamson Road, Whangamata sold for $850,000 at auction over Labour Weekend. Photo / Supplied
He figured that the market had gone up around 10 percent in the last 30 days, comparing a property at 113B Williamson Road that sold under the hammer this weekend for $850,000, with eight registered bidders, to a very similar house that sold last month on Kiwi Road which fetched just $785,000.
A waterfront property at the northern end of Whangamata at 175 Durrant Drive sold for $1.38 million, well above its July 2017 rating valuation of $915,000.
McGee said: “If it was beachfront, you’d be looking at $4.5 million, so worth it to get in the car for three minutes to drive to the beach.”
A modern four-bed, two-bath house at 119B Exeter Road had eight registered bidders and sold for $1.02 million. McGee said people were moving fast: the under-bidder had viewed the house for all of 50 seconds before registering to bid, just missing out on the house by $5,000.
McGee said that while renovated apartments in Whangamata were fetching $500,000-plus, the cheapest stand-alone baches, on the northern side of town, would be worth more than $600,000 now.
“On the town side of the causeway, the absolute cheapest is $650,000 while the average baches are getting $850,000 to $900,000. Most properties are getting multiple offers, some within three or four days or a week of listing.”
Paul Prouse, business owner of the Harcourts offices that span the Coromandel Peninsula, said the long weekend was “pretty much frantic” across the whole area.
“A number of open homes were absolutely inundated; 15 groups were common where normally we’d think five or so was great. Compared to Labour Weekend last year, it’s a whole new level, there are lots of buyers out there," he said.
A harbour-side property at 175 Durrant Road, Whangamata, sold at auction for $1/38 million. Photo / Supplied
“We’ve had a number of properties selling within a day, before we can even get the sign up.”
Prouse said that buyers were a mix of second-home buyers, young families and out-of-towners who realise they can work remotely from the beach.
“The school roll at Whanga is huge. They’re getting enquiries for new kids.”
He said that even places with no views were getting $1.25 million. “There’s a real shortage of listings. Last week we had six offers in a week for [a property] around $1 million for a second home.”
Prouse said that holiday home buyers were putting pressure on the market, with towns like Pauanui “going crazy”.
“A lot on the waterways are selling really well, for $1.5 million to $3 million," he said.
“The whole Coromandel has a lack of listings. Properties that have been sitting around for six months are now selling.”
He said that there were only 30 to 40 properties for sale in Whangamata, a fraction of the 100 available last summer, which was well down on the usual 120 – 130.
“Into November we’re auctioning six or seven properties, and will probably double that before Christmas. Last year it was three or four.”
Bayleys Whitianga managing director Mary Walker said activity was up: “All through the winter it’s been busy like summer. Prices have risen because there’s a shortage of stock, we get two or three offers within days," she said.
“We try to give buyers a fair go and give [a property] a couple of weeks so that people have time to get across to have a look. A run-of-the-mill house is selling for way above what we think is its value, and we do a lot of auctions.
“Places that have sat for a long time are now getting multi-offers. We haven’t got the stock. Certainly something will sell if it’s listed.”
