Expats and locals looking for a slice of paradise have led to a flurry of big sales on Waiheke Island.
In Ray White’s auction rooms last month, a three-bedroom bungalow in Oneroa sold for $4.225 million – more than $1m above CV – and a two-bedroom bach in Onetangi sold for $2.05m while at Bayleys auctions last weekend, a stylish four-bedroom home in Palm Beach fetched just over $6m – almost double its $3.25m CV.
OneRoof also learned of two $10m-plus deals struck in February, but confidentiality clauses prevent the agents from revealing details.
The $6.031m Palm Beach sale was brokered by Bayleys agent Mana Tahapehi. He said the architect-designed house was in a prime spot, with never-to-be-built-out views of the beach and the Hauraki Gulf.
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The property on Hill Road comes with a designer sleep-out, its own water bore, a wine cellar and a private pathway to the beach.
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Ray White agents Helen Smith and Harry Howe listed the Waikare Road bungalow that sold under the hammer for $4.225m.
They told OneRoof that the character home and its clear view of the bay ticked all the boxes for the eventual buyers, a boating family who had missed out on several other $4m properties on the island.
Smith said the house was an extremely popular holiday let, so open home viewings had been tricky to organise.
She said these types of properties were proving popular, with buyers looking to put them on the short-term rental market when not personally using them.
A three-bedroom character home on Waikare Road, Waiheke, sold under the hammer for just over $4m. Photo / Supplied
A stylish two-bedroom bach on Sea View Road, Onetangi, fetched $2.05m at auction. Photo / Supplied
“The holiday booking companies are seeing lots more visitors. They’re saying it’s their best year on the island since 2017,” she told OneRoof.
Smith also had buyers coming from overseas.
A smart three-bedroom property on Great Barrier Road, in Enclosure Bay, sold to Hong Kong-based Kiwis for $2.9m, within a week of being listed.
She noted an uptick in buyer interest for properties with potential. She currently has a modest 1980s two-bedroom cottage on a 6216sqm of land for sale at 2 Newton Road, in Oneroa. It is being pitched at buyers who are prepared to spend a couple of years, and probably a couple of million dollars, building their dream house.
“In all my years it’s one of the best views I’ve seen. It’s one helluva site,” Smith said, adding the asking price of $4.295m, a hair over its $4.25m CV was “cautious”, but the executors of the deceased estate want it sold.
Expats snapped up a three bedroom house on Great Barrier Road, in Enclosure Bay, for $2.9m. Photo / Supplied
On the market: 2 Newton Road, in Oneroa, has an asking price of $4.295m. Photo / Supplied
Ray White Waiheke owner Matthew Smith said more buyers had been around in February, some with budgets of up to $10m. There is a lot more choice too, with the island boasting 40% more properties for sale compared to last year.
He said around $2m would secure a good bach without a view, while an old bach in a good location would fetch around $1m.
A piece of land on Coromandel Road above Enclosure Bay, marketed by Waiheke Real Estate agent Hayden Ringrose, recently sold under the hammer for $2.005m - nearly $1m above its CV.
Six bidders registered for the auction, with Ringrose noting that the property attracted interest from locals and expats, even a couple of Americans who were keen to buy on the island.
“It’s a premier site, everyone that enquired all turned up, but they knew it wasn’t going to go for a peanut price.”
- Click here to find more properties for sale on Waiheke Island
