The opening of the new Puhoi to Warkworth motorway has seen housing inquiry pick up in areas like Warkworth, Omaha and Matakana north of Auckland as those areas become increasingly popular with people fleeing the big smoke, real estate agents say.
The interest is across the board, from people in the luxury market to first home buyers with some looking to up sticks and move north.
The trend north has been underway since Covid but agents say the new motorway extension has fed into a smorgasbord of factors which make the area attractive.
While the motorway shaves around 12 minutes off the time taken to commute to Auckland, people are also drawn to the fact the new stretch of road is a much easier and safer drive.
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Mark Macky, owner and managing director of Bayleys in the North, says anecdotally he is hearing the new motorway is bringing more people to the area, and that’s as expected.
“Typically, around the world as infrastructure opens up it opens up real estate markets,” he tells OneRoof.
“It's reducing commuter times a lot. It just works really well.”
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While most agents spoken to had not seen hard data in terms of increased sales and price rises, Caleb Paterson, of Paterson Luxury, says within a fortnight of the new road opening last month his agency recorded a significant lift in off-season buyer inquiry for holiday homes, some with big budgets of up to $30m.
Pointing to REINZ figures, he says there were 11 sales of properties for $2m-plus in the popular coastal holiday home region, which includes Omaha, Pt Wells, Tawharanui Peninsula, Matakana, Snells Beach, Sandspit, Ti Point, Leigh and Pakiri.
Paterson says the July data shows properties over $24m sold 24% above their CV compared to 10% above CV for June and he thinks the new roading infrastructure could see property prices rise by 15-20% over the next two years.
“There is growing confidence in the market at the moment and with improved accessibility the northern region is going to continue to boom within the next 12 to 18 months.”
Other agents report it’s not just the holiday market being boosted but the relocator market.
Macky says people are definitely looking at Warkworth as an area to move to, saying a lot of Aucklanders want the lifestyle and also the smaller-town New Zealand feel because of the great sense of community.
On the doorstep are beaches, marine parks, markets, restaurants and cafes, he says.
“There is absolutely no doubt it's having an impact on the market but it's probably continuing the long trend that we've seen for a while.”
The reality is properties are cheaper than in the city and Macky says first home buyers are looking at value for money combined with the lifestyle factors versus battling Auckland traffic.
“Quite often I will leave my house in Matakana and I will get to the city faster than someone who is leaving from Long Bay or parts of the Shore,” he says.
Houses in Warkworth. Agents predict there’ll be more enquiries for properties in the town as a result of the new road connection. Photo / Fiona Goodall
Harcourts Matakana agent Jeneen Binsted: “I think the safety of the motorway as much as the diminished time probably is appealing to people as well.” Photo / Fiona Goodall
Di Balich, from Precision Real Estate in Omaha, hasn’t noticed the new motorway translating into sales as yet but agrees there seem to be more people looking to see what the buzz is about, some of them with a view to selling up in the city and relocating to the pricey holiday area.
“I think people are anxious about the intensification of Auckland city as well as the usual crime and that kind of thing and they're looking for a quality of life for their children and themselves.”
Balich says climate change is also a factor playing into people’s investigations north, saying people are worried about further impact on properties after the Auckland floods this year and the many slips impacting expensive cliff top homes.
“I think once they've sorted out their insurance issues that's a market that's probably going to have a closer look at this area if they want to be close to a beach or have a view.”
Another plus is not having to navigate the notorious Hills Road intersection, once dubbed New Zealand’s worst intersection.
“It’s certainly helped entry into the area, access to all the beaches and you don't get those big queues of cars on the Matakana road from the Hills Road intersection clogging up things.”
Jeneen Binsted, from Harcourts Matakana, is also hearing comments from people at open homes about how wonderful the motorway is and how quickly they got there and she expects in the coming months that could play into to increased sales and perhaps a value shift.
“I think we saw an uplift last time when the Puhoi section was done and I think we saw values rise a little bit then actually. “
Paterson Luxury agent Caleb Paterson says there’s real confidence in the market now. Photo / Supplied
The beach at Mangawhai Heads. The area has long been popular with Aucklanders, and the new motorway will cut travel times to baches. Photo / Getty Images
Binsted also says the new motorway is only part of a package of factors pulling Aucklanders north and that Warkworth is one of the satellite towns designated under the Auckland Unitary Plan for expansion.
There’s a lot of development and the population is growing.
“I think we're probably seen as the outer suburb of Auckland now, not Matakana but Warkworth certainly,” Binsted says.
“We have got schools, it's a pleasant place to live, it's in touch with the Matakana Coast, I mean, why wouldn't you want to live there if you could?”
And the new motorway is pretty wonderful, she says, especially given the road before was “tortuous” with a high volume of accidents.
“Scenically, it's stunning, they've done cuts through big sandstone hills, it’s quite dramatic and you just seem to glide up and down the motorway.
“I think the safety of the motorway as much as the diminished time probably is appealing to people as well.”
In Mangawhai, Loren Lopez of Mangawhai Real Estate, says there has been increased activity but that’s because people are now thinking prices are not going to fall much more, not because of the new road.
“People are definitely talking about it. I know they say it’s great when they come up, it’s made such a difference, but I haven’t heard them specifically say we’ve come up here because of the Puhoi motorway.”
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