Omaha is New Zealand’s very own Hamptons. That’s how Bayleys Real Estate agent Victoria Turner characterises the long white-sand beach and its sought-after holiday homes.
Or as Precision Real Estate’s Di Balich puts it: “It’s like being on holiday every day.”
Omaha’s homes range from traditional baches in the older northern end to contemporary designer holiday homes at the southern end, which attracts A-List Kiwis, such as Real Housewives of New Zealand star Louise Wallace, says Balich. One of the most famous owners in recent years was former prime minister John Key.
It’s Auckland’s rich-lister playground, being only an hour’s drive from the city. That’s about to get shorter as when the Ara Tūhono upgrade of State Highway 1 from Pūhoi to Wellsford opens. Add to that the Matakana link road, under construction currently, which will cut out the nightmare junction at Warkworth.
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One of the big drawcards of Omaha is the proximity the “boutique” village of Matakana with its fresh farmers market, restaurants, wineries and golf courses. Virtually everything a holiday home-owner could want is a seven-minute drive away.
If Omaha wasn’t already popular enough, the genie was really let out of the bottle in 2021. Being within the Auckland regional boundaries, holidaymakers and day trippers flocked to the seaside settlement during the pandemic. With work from home undergoing such growth, Omaha owners took advantage of longer weekends at the beach, says Turner.
At play in Omaha. Photo / Greg Bowker
Residents take a stroll along the beach. Photo / Dean Purcell
Historically, around 85 to 90 of the 1408 properties sell a year, says Balich. In 2020, 81 properties sold, but by 2021, that number was down to just 34 sales for the entire year. Turner puts the drop down to the Covid effect.
Owners are enjoying the holiday homes more thanks to the pandemic, and don’t want to sell. "Where would they put the money, with term deposits returning so little?” says Turner. What she has seen is the “Omaha shuffle” where owners have been trading up to better homes.
Prices skyrocketed in 2021. “Every sale is a record sale,” says Balich. “Even with the new revaluations sales are still achieving 80 to 100% over valuation, which I find remarkable just shows the strength of the Omaha market."
In April 2022 the median price for Omaha was $3.1m, up from $2.250m a year earlier. “That will buy you a nice weekend end holiday home with four bedrooms,” says Turner.
An entry level “bach” could be picked up for $1.1 a couple of years ago, says Turner. Now that’s $1.8m to $2m. “In 2021 there were only three properties that sold for under $2m according to recorded statistics through the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand. That was three original baches on 500 to 600m2 sites.”
This Hamptons-style house on Inanga Lane sold for $8.32m last year. Photo / Supplied
A house on Kutai Lane set a new record for the beach town, selling for more than $9m. Photo / Supplied
Snapping one up, however, isn’t easy, says Balich. "[In early April] there were only four properties on the market, and market intelligence suggests three were under offer, potentially leaving only one available,” she says. That one could be in any price bracket.
In February 2021, a new record was set in Omaha with the sale of an Omaha Drive property, facing the Whangateau Harbour for $4.62m .
In October Turner sold the next-door property at 259 Omaha Drive for $6.35m. Despite Covid restrictions there were 41 private viewings and an accepted pre-auction offer of $5.1m bringing the auction forward. Eleven buyers joined the online auction with 44 bids in 16 minutes culminating in an outstanding sale price $1.25m over the reserve and $1.73m over the previous record next door.
But by the end of last year that price was blown out of the water when a Hamptons-style house on Inanga Lane fetched $8.32m in a deal brokered by Ray White agent Heather Walton.
Turner says that by the close of 2021, 44% of sales in Omaha were for over $4m.
Balich has pushed the sales record closer to the magic $10m mark, brokering a $9m-plus deal this year for a beachfront home on Kutai Lane.
Balich told OneRoof that interest in the bach had been strong. Two buyers had submitted very high offers but there were others with budgets of around $8m who had expressed an interest. “Six months ago, they possibly would have got the house for that,” she said.
“So many Omaha owners are aspiring to get onto the waterfront. They come here, discover they like it and then want to be waterfront,” she says.
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