Wealthy buyers looking to secure a bach in the popular beach town of Omaha are coming up short. They have the money, but the luxury pads they want to purchase just aren’t on the market.
Precision agent Di Balich, who has brokered deals for some of the most expensive homes in the rich lister enclave north of Auckland, told OneRoof she had two buyers who were prepared to spend $12m on property, but she had no sellers.
“The buyers want waterfront, but it has to be special, the right property,” Balich said.
“They maybe a little more cautious, but they’re looking at the quality of the offering, not just driven by FOMO.”
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The most money paid for a bach in Omaha is $8.32m, back in October last year. That property, on Inanga Lane, is a Hamptons-style sprawling house with all luxury fittings on an 1100sqm section right on the beach. Properties like it are thin on the ground in town and rarely come to market.
Balich says most of the deals done at that level tend to be private, with the properties rarely hitting the open market. In October she brokered a deal for a four-bedroom high-end bach on Rita Way. She approached buyers on her database and within 24 hours she got one offering $7.65m. “It was love at first sight for the buyers - the perfect match. They had been looking for three or four months, and had missed out on other beachfront properties,” she said.
Balich said she already had buyers prepared to pay more than $5m for a four-bedroom property on Mangatawhiri Road she has yet to bring to the open market and which last sold six years ago for $2.3m, and she had buyers with more than $3m interested in a three-bedroom cedar house on the same road that last sold 24 months ago for $2.225m.
A house on Omaha Drive on the harbourside of the suburb sold in October for $6.35m. Photo / Supplied
A three-bedroom Lockwood bach on Shamrock Crest sold for $1.92m in August, the lowest recent sale price in Omaha. Photo / Supplied
The average property value in Omaha has risen 22% in the last 12 months to $2.782m, below the average Auckland growth rate of 25.3% but this is more a reflection of the lack of stock on the market than any drop in demand for properties in the town.
Balich said that the lack of listings was also a problem at the bottom of the market. Properties for sale under $1.5m were thin on the ground. She said that a 14-year-old townhouse on a unit title in Mangatawhiri Road had extraordinary interest “because it’s under $2m”.
“There are fewer listings than last summer. Property is scarce and I don’t see there’s going to be a plethora of new listings,” she said.
A smart home on St Anne Place, on the market for the first time in nearly 30 years, goes to auction on January 20. Photo / Supplied
“Owners are sitting tight, because of all the uncertainty over Covid and international travel.”
Ray White Matakana owner Heather Walton, who set the Omaha record with the Inanga Lane sale, told OneRoof that a recent off-market sale of a four-bedroom home for $5.5m showed that demand was still strong.
“Buyers see what things have gone for. You can't argue with the numbers, they just have to pay.”
However, the listings were not there.
A five-year-old home on Mangatawhiri Drive is asking for offers over $3m. Photo / Supplied
“It’s dead as a dodo. Things have definitely cooled down a bit, like the rest of Auckland,” Walton said, adding that some sellers would have to adjust their price expectations to meet the market.
She said that a three-bedroom smartly renovated bach on St Anne Place that her office is auctioning on January 20 would be an interesting test of where prices were landing this summer.
“It’s a classic Kiwi bach on 556sqm with a peek of the sea. It’s been in the same family for 30 years, with a walkway to the beach. It’s had solid interest,” she said.
A brand new four-bedroom house on Ida Way, one street back from the water, goes to auction January 19. Photo / Supplied
Bayleys Victoria Turner is bringing a brand new four bedroom 285sqm home on Ida Way, one street back from the water on Omaha’s northern point to auction January 19, and earlier told OneRoof she expected it to appeal to buyers who don't want to deal with the current construction shortages.
“This is a simply sensational home,” she said.
“There are a lot of people milling around Omaha and we’ve been very busy. We’ve got three listings at one time, which is more than we’ve had all year – there are still people looking to shuffle around the area, and we’ve had record numbers through Ida coming to a new part of old Omaha.”
