Mount Maunganui is one of New Zealand’s richest addresses and is certainly one many Tauranga buyers aspire to, with rising demand pushing up the suburb’s average property value 52.9% in the last two years to $1.705 million.
However, some Mount homeowners are actively looking to escape the hustle and bustle of the beachfront strip, and are eyeing up properties in more peaceful parts of the city and the wider Bay of Plenty.
Bayleys Tauranga agent Euan Sears told OneRoof that traditionally people moved from Tauranga to the Mount, but for the first time ever he has noticed the reverse happening.
“Everyone loves the Mount, but the traffic is a lot heavier there and it’s very busy in the summer. If you are on Marine Parade at the peak of summer, there’s not a lot of privacy there,” he said.
Start your property search
Sears sold several properties on Otumoetai’s prestigious Harbour Drive, including a townhouse last month for $3.17 million. He said Otumoetai was becoming increasingly popular because it was both on the waterfront and a short walk to Tauranga’s bars and restaurants.
He said waterfront locations such as Harbour Drive offered a beautiful, but quieter option, he said.
Harbour Drive was home to ACDC drummer Phil Rudd until he sold his waterfront mansion to an Auckland businessman in January 2019 for $4m.
Other popular waterfront locations in Tauranga include Kulim Avenue and Beach Road, but they are a little bit farther from the CBD.
The Harbour Drive home that ACDC drummer Phil Rudd sold in 2019 for $4m. Photo / Supplied
This three-bedroom home on Harbour Drive recently fetched $3.17m at auction. Photo / Supplied
Oliver Road partner Jason Eves said in the last 12 to 18 months they had seen several buyers looking to move away from the Mount to Whakamarama, Te Puna and Omokoroa, in Western Bay of Plenty.
"There has been an interest in a move from the Mount for some of its residents. Those we have met have typically been living at the Mount for a very long time, are now finding it a bit busy, and are considering their comparative property buying power on the Tauranga side of the bridge," he said.
Mount Maunganui had changed over the years from a summer destination to an all-year-round busy, vibrant centre with one of the best high streets in the region, but some longer-term residents are now after a bit more peace and quiet, he said.
Eves said property values at Mount Maunganui had increased significantly, and in many cases disproportionately given the suburb's immense local, national and international popularity, when compared to other Bay of Plenty suburbs.
“This allows Mount owners to release more capital in their sale than they are likely to need or want to spend on their next home in Tauranga or even a larger lifestyle property in Western Bay of Plenty,” he said.
His agency is currently marketing a country home on a 4876sqm lifestyle block at 300F Whakamārama Road in Whakamārama with a list price of $4.65m, which is in the same bracket as a luxury apartment in the iconic Elevens Apartment Complex on Mt Maunganui Road that sold at a Bayleys auction last week for $4.175m.
This four-bedroom home on 300F Whakamarama Road, in Whakamarama, is on the market for $4.65m. Photo / Supplied
A three-bedroom apartment in a tower block on Maunganui Road, Mt Maunganui, sold under the hammer last week for $4.175m. Photo / Supplied
In February this year, a two-bedroom bach on Marine Parade sold for $7.65m.
Harcourts Tauranga managing director Simon Martin said they regularly saw property owners in suburban areas of Mount Maunganui move to Tauranga to be either on the harbour or to get impressive water views with the lower price tag.
“It’s not the same as beachfront on the Mount so it is a cheaper option, a way cheaper option,” he said.
“You’ve got people in the suburban areas of the Mount looking at the beachfront and it’s like $7m ... they go ‘well if I want to get on the beachfront then Maungatapu is a good option’.”
There are also a lot more harbourside properties scattered around Tauranga compared with beachfront properties at the Mount or even Papamoa.
But a prime beachfront property at Mount Maunganui was quite different to being in a house on Tauranga’s harbourside, he said.
“It’s like comparing Tauranga harbour to Lake Rotoiti, they are different. So is the harbour compared to the beachfront at the Mount.”
Find more homes for sale in Tauranga here.
