Once billed as Auckland’s very own Riviera when it was first subdivided, Bucklands Beach is almost totally surrounded by water. And don’t buyers know it.
The original sections were sold in the 1920s and 1930s with a £25 cash deposit and £2 per month payment. Aucklanders would come out in horse and cart to their baches, which had been subdivided from Alfred Buckland’s land where he had raised 21 children in the late 19th century as well as farming ostriches.
One of those original baches, at 45 Hattaway Avenue, had been owned by the same family for more than 80 years until it sold last year, says Bayleys agent Sam Rosenberg. The 875sqm property sold for $2.3 million, with the value of the land driving the price.
Many of the original Bucklands Beach sections were around the 809sqm mark, but in more recent decades a good number have been subdivided, meaning homes sit on smaller parcels of land, says Rosenberg. “That’s fairly typical of most fringe suburbs in Auckland.”
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The ferry service connects residents to Auckland CBD and Waiheke Island. Photo / Fiona Goodall
The golf course is a big drawcard for buyers. Photo / Fiona Goodall
Bucklands Beach still has the holiday feel, says Ray White agent Ellen Ming, who lives in the suburb. “It’s safe and it has a friendly, relaxed, kicked-back feeling. It’s beachside and the golf course is popular.”
The age of the housing stock is mixed, with many of the original baches now gone. “We have a lot of 1950s homes that have been renovated and added to over the years,” says Ming.
“Entry level is around $1m for a two-bedroom flat. For a family home with a backyard, you would probably pay $2m,” she says.
Rosenberg’s office sold an older-style three-bedroom family home on a cross leased site last year for $1.3m. “It was in pretty good nick, but a bit older.” Anything cheaper would be a one- or two-bedroom unit.
A 1923 poster advertising new subdivisions in Bucklands Beach. Photo / Auckland Council Libraries
This original bach at 45 Hattaway Avenue sold for more than $2m last year. Photo / Supplied
Waterfront homes cost considerably more, says Ming. Two neighbouring townhouses on The Parade that were “ripe for redevelopment” sold for $6.5m in 2021. “There was one last year that sold in excess of $7m. It had riparian rights.”
Typically, there are 50 to 70 homes for sale in Bucklands Beach at any one time, says Ming, and it is not unusual for homes to be sold sight unseen. The drawcard is often Macleans College, which she describes as one of the best state schools in the country.
From a practical perspective, Bucklands Beach is much better served by supermarkets, DIY stores and other services than many of Auckland’s top suburbs. “It’s so easy if you want to pop out to buy a loaf of bread, milk, or some chops for dinner,” she says. “Imagine doing that in St Heliers.”
Swimmers in the bay. Photo / Fiona Goodall
Access to Auckland, and Waiheke via ferry from nearby Half Moon Bay is a real bonus. Since 2010 there has been a boardwalk joining Bucklands Beach to the Half Moon Bay Marina. “I used to do open homes here in Bucklands Beach at 3.30/4pm, be on the five o’clock ferry to Waiheke and be back on the deck of my bach for barbecue dinner with the family.”
The peninsula’s two long beaches, Bucklands and Eastern, stretch north/south, with less than 1km separating them. “If the wind is blowing the wrong direction, it’s a really short walk to either Bucklands Beach or Eastern Beach,” says Rosenberg. It’s not unusual to see dolphins and orcas from the beach and the occasional seal.
