A lifestyle property on the edge of Northland’s diving mecca of Tutukaka sold last week for $5.5 million - only three weeks after hitting the market.
The fully rebuilt four-bedroom house on over 14.9ha on North Gable Way, midway between Tutukaka Harbour and Matapouri Bay, boasted more than half a kilometre of waterfront on its private peninsula, as well as its own walking tracks and secret coves, native bush and a salt-water swimming pool.
The estate had a 2021 RV of $3.24m and according to OneRoof records last changed hands in mid-2019 for $2.555m.
Ray White agent Ross Hawkins, who marketed the property with Richard Bull, said that some buyers looking at the property, which was asking for offers around $5.7m, were taken aback at how quickly it sold. The buyer was a Northland local, he said.
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“Some people weren’t ready, some were overseas and waiting to come back,” he said.
“Putting a price on is important, as otherwise people don’t know where it would land.”
He said that even though the summer selling season has not really kicked in yet the agents were expecting the coastal and lifestyle market to be even stronger from Labour weekend onward.
“Anything with good access to the water has been the most resilient this year.”
The house on North Gable Way, Tutukaka, had its own private waterfront with secret coves. Photo / Supplied
The $5.49m price beats the earlier Northland record, set in February, of $5m paid for a modern estate on Redcliffs Road about 10km out of Kerikeri. Photo / Supplied
The sale price beats Tutukaka’s record set in February of $5m, for a three-bedroom house on 8.66ha on Waipouri Lane.
This year’s top Northland prices were achieved even further north.
A modern glass 747sq m resort-style three-bedroom home on Redcliffs Road, on the water by Napia Bay, about 10km out of Kerikeri, sold for $7m in February.
The biggest buy – after over two years on the market – was $10.6m paid in April for the only private island in the Cavilli group, just off Matauri Bay.
Motukawaiti, also known as Step Island, had been a luxury resort that included massage rooms designed by renowned architect Ken Crosson. It had fallen into disrepair and had been on the market since 2020, asking $22m, after the owner had returned to China.
After more than two years on the market, Motukawaiti, also known as Step Island in the Cavilli group, sold for 10.6m in April after being abandoned and falling into disrepair. Photo / Supplied
The undisclosed New Zealand buyers issued a statement at the time, saying they hoped to develop a friendship with Ngati Kura, the local hapu which had lobbied for return of ownership. The owners said planned to restore the island to its "natural beauty" through pest eradication and planting, with Ngati Kura's guidance.
Hawkins said that while plenty of Australians, who can buy sensitive coastal land without Overseas Investment Office approval, were looking at the North Gable Way property, the biggest buyer pool was downsizing baby boomers from Auckland, with budgets of $3m or more.
He said many buyers were heading north from the more developed Omaha and Point Wells as those beach town, and interest is growing around Mangawhai, the closest town to the up-scale golf courses of Tara Iti and Te Arai.
The overseas-based Kiwi owner is selling the luxury lodge The Glass House, at Kauri Point Mountain on Whangarei Heads for over $8m. Photo / Supplied
"High net worth individuals were jumping in their Aston Martins when they’re staying at [nearby luxury lodge] Kauri Cliffs to come look at property,” Bull added.
Both agents saying that there was very little on the market on that stretch of Tutukaka coast, either as published listings or even off market.
Hawkins said: “It’s not like Auckland where people try [to list their property] off-market because they’re nervous about being on the market too long. Here, everyone wants to know as soon as something comes on the market.”
He said he also has some overseas-based owners selling after no longer making use of their properties through Covid border closures.
One of their clients, overseas-based Kiwi financier John Fulton, who earlier told OneRoof he waited out the Covid crisis in Europe has just re-listed his luxury multi-million-dollar estate on Kauri Mountain Point on Whangārei Heads.
Hawkins and Bull said the property, on its own 10.15ha peninsula was previously on the market in early 2021 with a price tag of $8.5 million, but would now be looking for interest above $8m.
The property, which has featured in numerous magazines, has two luxury dwellings, one of which is rented out to guests for more than $2000 a night.
The main residence, Te Whara, is a three-bedroom upscale version of a sturdy rural barn, designed by noted Kiwi architect Andrew Patterson. The one-bedroom lodge, called the Glasshouse but also known as the “lover’s cottage”, was designed by Paul Clarke of Studio2 Architects in 2010 and boasts a separate glass-walled bath house that overlooks the bush and sea.
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