Baches in two of New Zealand's best waterfront locations have sold for big sums under the hammer in the last seven days.
In Kinloch, on the edge of Lake Taupo, a three-bedroom 1970s build home at 10 Kinloch Road sold for $4.075 million on Friday - more than $1 million above the reserve and, astonishingly, more than $2.6 million its 2019 rating valuation.
READ MORE: Baches don’t come cheap at NZ’s best beach
Bayleys agent Helen Webb, who brought the property to market with her colleague and son Rowan, said the lucky buyer was Wellington home-owner who was on the look-out for a bach.
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Nine other bidders competed for the house, with bidding starting at $2 million and quickly passing the reserve of $3 million.
Webb said that waterfront properties like 10 Kinloch Road rarely came to market and the $4.075 million sale price was a record for the town.
Kinloch house prices have risen sharply in the last 12 months, OneRoof's latest figures showing a 20% year-on-year surge in the town's median property value, from $765,000 to $915,000.
The 10 Kinloch Road sale shows demand at the top end of the market has put upward pressure on prices. The previous highest settled sale for the 12 months to January 15 was $2.1 million.
Webb said: “We are a holiday destination and generally people look to retire here in the future,” she said.
Thanks to planning changes, 10 Kinloch Road is the only two-storey lakeside property in the town, and sits on an 801sqm section. Webb said it had lots of potential. “People are investing in their own piece of Aotearoa,” she said.
The bach is the only two-level home in Kinloch. Photo/ Supplied
Another waterfront bach feeling the heat was 13 Grace Avenue, in Mt Maunganui, Tauranga.
The modest-looking 100sqm home that sits on 809sqm some six houses back from the beach sold under the hammer on Wednesday for $3.51 million - more than double its 2018 rating valuation.
Bidding at the Bayleys auction started at $2 million and quickly shot past the reserve price of $3.25 million after competitive bidding.
The listing agent, Sharon Hall, said the 1920s-build bach had been owned by the same family for more than four decades.
"The current family has decided now is the time to pass the treasure to the next family. They will take their family album and memories with them," she said in the marketing.
A two-bedroom 1920s-build bach in Mount Maunganui sold for $3.51 million. Photo/ Supplied
Bidding at the Bayleys auction started at $2 million and quickly shot past the reserve price of $3.25 million after competitive bidding.
The listing agent, Sharon Hall, said the 1920s-build bach had been owned by the same family for more than four decades.
"The current family has decided now is the time to pass the treasure to the next family. They will take their family album and memories with them," she said in the marketing.
Vintage baches on big sections in Mt Maunganui and nearby Papamoa Beach have commanded top prices in the last 12 months. In September Hall sold 223 Oceanbeach Road, a 1940s build bach with a $5.24 million rating valuation, for an undisclosed sum.
And in August a beach house on a 1201sqm section at 265 Papamoa Beach Road sold at auction for $3.15 million - almost $1 million above its rating valuation. The property had not been on the market in close to 50 years and was one of last undeveloped large-scale sections fronting Papamoa Beach.
