A remote rich-lister enclave in the middle of the Waikato is fast on its way to becoming the next Wanaka, with agents reporting huge demand for sections from buyers with a lot of “dough” in their bank accounts.
But despite the growth in Kinloch’s housing market, services in the town are still limited to a café and dairy, with agents telling OneRoof that residents think nothing of making the 20-minute commute into nearby Taupō for petrol and groceries.
Some 37 sections in stage two of Kinloch’s newest subdivision Seven Oaks will settle by the end of the month and further sections in stages three, four, five and six are due to systematically go unconditional through until April 2023.
Once all nine stages of Seven Oaks are completed within the next few years, there will be a total of 185 sections. This is in addition to the sections already developed in the earlier subdivisions which include Locheagles, Holy Oaks, Oakdale, Te Kowhai and The Poplars.
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Bayleys Taupō agent Helen Webb, who is marketing the Seven Oaks subdivision, said the latest sections in Seven Oaks have been bought by private people – many of whom plan to build holiday homes.
“There’s a few that are going to be moving permanently into them or with a view to moving permanently in the future, using it as a holiday home to begin with and a retirement home once they get to that level.”
So far only 14 houses are being built or have been completed in the first stage of Seven Oaks, but that’s likely to change within the next few weeks.
“There’s a lot of people waiting with plans and builders already to go as soon as the titles come through so it will be a big construction area.
“I know the builders are pretty tapped out too and there’s big waiting lists for those. They’ve got orders right through for a year-and-a-half, two years – some of these builders.”
Sections in Seven Oaks are currently selling from $500,000 and are at least 800sqm or more in size, while a section with views over the lake in the premium flagship gated street in Oakleaf Lane, released in stage one, fetched just over $1 million.
The 800sqm-plus Lot 98, Seven Oaks, in Kinloch, Taupō, is priced at $500,000. Photo / Supplied
A three-bedroom new-build home at 102 Kenrigg Road, Kinloch, has an asking price of $950,000. Photo / Supplied
Auckland investor John Sax, who owns the Jack Nicklaus-designed Kinloch golf course and Kinloch Manor, which offers high-end accommodation and a world-class restaurant, told OneRoof last month that he was about to launch a development of 173 homes on the course.
Webb said the area has changed dramatically since she moved there in the mid-1990s and people who haven’t visited for a while won’t recognise it.
“The place has [more than] doubled in that time and we are a little bit short in infrastructure as far as shopping centres go.”
While short on services, Kinloch does have the only international Jack Nicklaus-designed course in New Zealand, as well as another public golf course, stunning scenery, walking and cycling tracks and a marina.
“It’s 20kms out of Taupō, which all the (Taupō) locals think it’s like a daytrip and a packed lunch, but when you live in Kinloch you sometimes go into town twice a day – you don’t think anything of it really. It’s like living in another suburb in Auckland, commuting to work every day,” she said.
Jack Nicklaus plays the golf course he designed for Kinloch. Photo / Getty Images
“I just think Kinloch is such a beautiful place to live, they call it the Wanaka of the North Island. It’s sort of got that same look and feel and it’s got a very, very bright future.”
According to the latest OneRoof Valocity house value figures, Kinloch’s average property value rose 5.8% in the three months to the end of June to $1.501m.
Tremains Taupō sales manager Annalise Johnsen said Kinloch is seen as one of Taupō’s higher-end areas and has a “class factor”.
But despite more sections becoming available, established houses are more in demand at the moment as people struggle to get builders, she said.
When Johnsen moved to the area two-and-a-half years ago, a new three-bedroom, two-bathroom brick and tile house could be built for $600,000, but now those same houses would be worth well over $1m.
Likewise when the first subdivisions started, sections were being snapped up for $180,000. Now similar sections range between $500,000 and $600,000 upwards.
“We’ve seen a few people cashing up on the equity growth out there.”
Anyone wanting to buy a house in Kinloch now would need at least $900,000 and even then houses in the lower-end bracket are few and far between. Taupō offers a much more affordable option for many with entry-level houses in some of the less desirable suburbs available from $500,000.
“You’d need to have some dough to get into Kinloch.”
A “lock up and leave” new three-bedroom, two-bathroom home on a 400sqm section at 102 Kenrigg Road is for sale for $950,000.
This five-bedroom home at 31/500 Kinloch Road, Kinloch, is for sale for $1.7m. Photo / Supplied
A 4.08ha plot of bare land on Oakdale Drive, Kinloch, has a fixed price of $795,000. Photo / Supplied
While a five-bedroom, three-bathroom home on a 2000sqm section is currently on the market for $1.7m and a 4ha bare lifestyle section is taking enquiries of $800,000.
Like anywhere in the Taupō area, Kinloch’s waterfront properties also got top dollar and there is only a small road standing between the house and the lakefront.
“You can never be built out; you can never be pushed out in anyway. It’s got a lovely little canal where all the big boats sit in behind that, but then you have the lakefront properties.”
The older Kinloch area mainly contains tightly-held holiday homes, some just across the road from the lakefront, whereas the hilltop subdivisions – some with views over the lake – have been bought by Taupō residents happy to make the 20-minute commute in favour of the quieter and more peaceful lifestyle.
- Find more properties for sale in Kinloch here.
