An off-grid home in the Coromandel is catching the attention of overseas buyers who are starting to show renewed interest in the area for the first time since Covid hit.
Agents say enquiry has been flowing in from buyers in the UK, Australia and France who appear to be looking for a secluded piece of paradise nestled in the Coromandel bush to escape to.
Bayleys salesperson Lea Jurkovich, who is based in Hahei, said 61 Koru Rise in Pumpkin Hill, near Tairua, has attracted the most overseas enquiry she’s seen in at least five years since interest disappeared during Covid.
“It had just abated really, but now we’ve put up this off-grid property it’s crazy.”
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Some were expats wanting to return home, while others seemed to be looking in case a National-led Government is formed and they opened the door to foreign buyers of high-end properties, she said.
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“Off-grid luxury properties over $2 million are relatively rare so therefore your buyer pool is going to reflect that ... But the level of interest coming in on this one, I would say 50% of the buyer enquiry is coming from overseas, which is very rare for me at the moment.”
Jurkovich said people want to fulfil the Kiwi dream and live a stress-free lifestyle where they can breathe in the clean air and look out to the ocean. “It’s just a romantic idea to come home and buy a coastal property.”
The current owners moved to the area just over two years ago after falling in love with the property and, according to OneRoof data, paid $1.59m for it, but have now decided to return home to Australia.
Being off-grid appears to have been the main drawcard for buyers, she said.
The property is set in a gated-community and has raised garden beds, an orchard and a hen house. It was built in 2018 by the developer who is a boat builder so has a large 100sqm garage. A cabin has also recently been added to the property to accommodate guests.
Overseas buyers want expansive sea views such as these that can be seen from the lounge of 61 Koru Rise in Pumpkin Hill. Photo / Supplied
An expat Kiwi living in France was impressed by a large off-grid property surrounded by native bush at 820 The 309 Road, in Whitianga. Photo / Supplied
North Real Estate has also been fielding interest from overseas buyers on two off-grid properties. A Kiwi living in France was drawn to a four-bedroom, two-bathroom property at 820 The 309 Road, in Whitianga, that promises self-sufficient living and is surrounded by 11.88 hectares of native bush, while there’s also been offshore interest in a more modest one-bedroom, one-bathroom cabin on a 5.5ha block at 1621 The 309 Road with good spring water and plenty of fruit trees.
North Real Estate salesperson Elaine Smith said in her experience unique properties, and especially comfortable off-grid properties, generally attract expats.
Smith said towns in the Coromandel such as Whitianga are seen by people living overseas as an accessible piece of paradise.
“Overseas buyers like to look at the sea and the feeling that they are escaping.
“People who have got millions – they don’t necessarily want beachfront now because there’s concern about climate change and rising water levels – but they want to look at the sea or be near the sea.”
A modest cabin at 1621 The 309 Road will also appeal to those looking for an off-grid lifestyle. Photo / Supplied
A small lock-and-leave bach on a larger section in Whitianga went into a multi-offer situation this week after two overseas buyers saw it online and placed offers on it sight unseen. Smith, whose colleague Joanne Hunt has the listing, said one of the offers was from someone currently living in Singapore, while the other was from someone on a sailing holiday around Thailand.
Harcourts Pauanui owner Alyce Rowe has also noticed more enquiries coming from overseas, especially from Kiwis living in Australia, and said this could be due to people considering moving back if there’s a change in government.
A four-bedroom, three-bathroom high-end home at 129 Motu Grande in the Pauanui Waterways had attracted most of the overseas interest, but Rowe could not be sure whether they were enquiring for a holiday home or because they were planning a move back home.
Overseas buyers are also setting their sights on Northland.
NZ Sotheby's International Realty North director Ben Macky had also noticed a massive increase in overseas interest, mainly from the US and Europe, for the premium lifestyle properties they currently have listed in Tutukaka, Taupō Bay and Whananaki.
“It’s definitely the lifestyle beach-fronty stuff where there’s been a spike.”
An impressive 5245sqm lifestyle property on the waterfront at 150 Whangaruru Wharf Road, in Whangaruru, and a three-bedroom, three-bathroom home at 106 Landowners Lane, in Tutukaka, described as “fit for the rich and famous” are both attracting a lot of international interest.
Macky said high-net-worth buyers want large properties with good outlooks. “Even the houses that aren’t amazing are getting really good interest - it’s all about the location.” Buyers are also asking about off-grid properties, he said.
The number of users searching for property on OneRoof who are in Australia, the UK and Indonesia during the three months to the end of September 2023 compared with the same period last year had increased, while those looking for property from the US and Singapore had slid.
Bayleys head of insights, data and consulting Chris Farhi said his in-house data showed enquiry coming in for holiday homes from Australia, Singapore and expat Kiwis in the US.
Farhi said historically coastal properties were often the first to attract expat interest in addition to Queenstown, which is always in demand.
While there hasn’t been a huge rush in offshore enquiry across the board, he expected there to be a bit more activity if there was a change in government and the foreign buyer ban was eased.
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