A quirky waterfront property looking out to New Zealand’s most loved beach could break the record for the cheapest property to sell on Ohope’s golden mile in recent times.
The price of the two-bedroom unit at 298A Ocean Road, in Ohope, has been significantly reduced to $679,000 since it was first listed last year and, if sold, would be the only one on the sought-after street to sell for under $700,000 in over two years.
The last time a property on Ocean Road dipped below $700,000 was in October 2020 when a cross-lease property sold for $675,000, analysis of settled sales by OneRoof’s data partner Valocity showed. The highest sale price for Ocean Road during the same three-year period was recorded in November last year when a large home on a 802sqm section fetched $3.05 million.
A two-bedroom home on nearby Pohutukawa Avenue sold for $650,000 in March and a two-bedroom unit sold for $680,000 in October last year. Neither had sea views.
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The lowest sale in the popular holiday spot of Ohope since the start of 2020 was a first-floor apartment on West End Road that sold for $400,000 in April 2022, while a modern beachfront home on Plantation Reserve, which sold for a whopping $4.65m in January 2022 still holds the most expensive house price.
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Bayleys salesperson Sabina Andresen, who is selling the Ocean Road property, isn’t aware of any properties on what is classed as one of Ohope’s best streets selling for under $1m for some time.
Ohope has grown in popularity and has consistently been named the country’s most-loved beach in national and international polls.
“Ocean Road is perceived to be the golden mile of the beach – you’ve still got the road and there are absolute beachfront properties along Pohutukawa Ave. But it’s definitely perceived to be one of the elite spots at the beach no doubt.”
The bach at 298A Ocean Road has an asking price of $679,000. Photo / Supplied
Beachfront properties in Ohope are always in demand. Photo / Supplied
The $679,000 price tag, which was below the RV of $1m, reflected the fact that the property was a unit title and attached to another property, she said.
The property last changed hands in October 2019 for $585,000 and had recently been rented out.
The “funky” layout has a small kitchen and dining room downstairs and a living room upstairs that looks across to the Pacific Ocean and White Island.
“It’s just a little quirky and you’ve got to be able to accept the property as it is because you can’t really alter the footprint.”
However, Andresen said the property would make a great bach and there was even room to pitch a couple of tents on the lawn.
“I reckon it would make a great little holiday pad and it wouldn’t take much to joosh it up a little bit and make it feel a little bit more beachy and bachy.”
While the sand dunes are slightly higher towards the port end of Ocean Road, she said they also offered protection from the wind.
Andresen said the owner was motivated to sell and there had been an uptick in interest since the price drop.
“The vendor has come down quite significantly and I’m getting good visits now. I don’t think it’s going to hang around for much longer.”
The kitchen dining is downstairs and the living room, with views out to White Island, is upstairs. Photo / Supplied
Other properties currently for sale on Ocean Road include a two-bedroom, one-bathroom “Kiwi classic beach bach” set down a long driveway at 348 Ocean Road which is being sold by tender, and a four-bedroom, two-bathroom home at 86 Ocean Road with “views for miles” that is priced by negotiation.
Ray White Ohope agent Tony Bonne, who is selling a three-bedroom, two-bathroom cedar A-frame home at 284 Ocean Road for $1.1m, said prices in the beach town have softened, but the reality was Ohope had limited land and there was no more that could be developed.
“Ocean Road, Pohutukawa Ave and West End Road are the most popular places to go.”
People still wanted sea views and were prepared to pay more for them, he said.
Bonne said good properties on Ocean Road that were on full sections and had excellent views were still in demand and sold well. There was also a portion of Ocean Road where the sand dunes had been flattened that tended to get a higher price because they had unencumbered views across the reserve to the beach.
The beachside of Pohutukawa Ave was the place to go for absolute beachfront, while people liked the fact that West End Road was quieter, he said.
“The ones that are totally on the beachfront will never lose their values. There’s a huge demand for beachfront properties.”
Harcourts Whakatane owner Wayne Pamment believed Ohope offered good value for money at the moment compared to other beach towns such as Waihi and Whangamata.
The challenges with the roading access in the Coromandel was also making people who would have previously jumped at going to Whitianga, Pauanui and Whangamata think twice about where they wanted to base themselves or acquire a holiday home, he said.
Pamment said there were a lot of properties in Ohope to choose from at the moment ranging from the mid-$500,000s to the multi-millions and they were taking longer to sell.
"Some vendors are probably at the stage where they would love to see something with some ink on it."
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