‘I’ve got nine people with coastal properties who now want to go to market’

Real estate agents specialising in luxury coastal properties have noted an uptick in enquiries from buyers and sellers.

Post-election, there appears to be more confidence at the upper end of the market, and agents expect National’s promise to overturn the foreign buyer ban could add to the momentum that’s been building since June.

New Zealand Sotheby’s International Realty agent Chester Rendell said that the foreign buyer ban, brought in 2018, had sucked some of the oxygen out of Northland’s prestige market, but good properties were still finding buyers – and at good prices.

“I sold a $4m property on Mataka Station – and that’s just the land. It was bought by an expat Kiwi who wants their American family to be a part of New Zealand. It has its own beach, and is a very nice development,” he told OneRoof.

“Sales are still happening, the exchange rate is helping. People are looking at $5m, at $2m properties. I’ve had enquiry from all over New Zealand, some from international. We don’t know the details yet of National’s policy, but it should make a difference.”

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Ray White agent Ross Hawkins told OneRoof that his workload had increased since October 14. “Everyone knows we’ve got a new direction. I’m driving up north tomorrow and I’ve got nine people with coastal properties who now want to go to market, from Pakiri north to the Tutukaka coast,” he said.

“That’s quite a bit of stuff for a nice summer. The properties range in price from $5m to $15m, homes with nice architectural designs and beautiful, beautiful locations,” Hawkins said.

He added that while it may be a while before the incoming National Government can implement their planned changes to foreigners buying properties worth over $2m, sellers’ moods have already swung.

A luxury waterfront spread on Mahinepua Road, in Kaeo, Far North, is for sale by way of deadline private treaty, closing November 24. Photo / Supplied

“It’s almost like they’ve opened up the tap. Everyone’s been waiting in the knowledge this was happening,” he said, adding that lifestyle properties he is marketing even closer to the city, in places like Coatesville or Clevedon, have turned the corner already.

Hawkins said he expected that foreign purchases of coastal properties would still be subject to sign-off by the Overseas Investment Office, as they are sensitive assets, but buyers would still be keen. “New Zealand’s coastal market is so cheap, especially with the dollar exchange rate now. Americans would buy here if they could,” he said.

Hawkins’ most recent luxury listing is a four-bedroom cedar-clad bach on 4434sqm on Great Barrier Island. The multi-million-dollar property at 112 Aotea Road is set for off-grid living and boasts a luxury finish.

For buyers looking for something further north, a 5-hectare estate overlooking the Cavalli Islands, not far from Northland’s celebrated Kauri Cliffs lodge and golf course, has also just hit the market.

The getaway on Mahinepua Road, Kaeo, has a luxuriously refurbished four-bedroom main house and a second two-bedroom house with views over the bay, part of a gated community. “There are only five houses in the bay on the waterfront and this property has two of them,” the listing said.

Bayleys agent John Greenwood, who has specialised in luxury coastal properties for 25 years, is expecting an increase in interest following the change of government but “it won’t necessarily mean a change in prices”.

“For the last year people have been very concerned about using their cash for recreational purposes, but we’re expecting a good summer – I'm talking about the $5m to $15m buyers,” he said.

Greenwood said that while a lot of the sensitive coastal land and islands will still need to get Overseas Investment Office approval, he expects the sign-off process under a National Government to take three to six months, rather than the 12 months or more it took under Labour.

350 McAuslin Road, Whananaki, comes with its own beach. Photo / Supplied

Greenwood said frustrated buyers just withdrew their application and walked away.

“I’m pretty grumpy about it. It will take six months to figure out how [to change the foreign buyer regulations] but we’re far more positive. We’re getting preliminary enquiries.”

In anticipation of the market pickup, Greenwood is ready to launch a waterfront property on 6ha on Sandy Bay, between two peninsulas at 350 McAuslin Road, Whananaki. The 20-year-old, four-bedroom house sits on its own private sandy beach at the end of a private road.

OneRoof records show the property has a rating valuation of $3.6m, but Greenwood would not say where the price might land.

Closer to home, he is also relaunching the nearly 24ha Motuketekete Island in Kawau Bay that he began marketing earlier this year with colleagues Kellie Bissett and Paula Bennett. At the time it was looking for a $12m buyer.

Closer to Auckland the boom in luxury coastal properties has spilled over to the quiet holiday town of Mangawhai, just north of Auckland.

83 Molesworth Drive, in Mangawhai Heads, Kaipara, is one of New Zealand's largest residential development sites on the market right now. Photo / Supplied

392 and 421 Journeys End, in Tapora, is being touted as "avocado gold". Photo / Supplied

Colliers directors Blair Peterken and Josh Coburn, who are marketing a 1200-property subdivision on the edge of the town, said that’s worked in their vendors’ favour. “We are marketing the fact that it’s a luxury playground. Everyone wants to be there at Tara Iti or Te Arai, but can’t afford that,” Peterken said.

“This is a master-planned community, and with the motorway extension, the lifestyle and amenity it’s a continuation of the post-Covid change.

“People are moving coastal because they’re turning away from a busy city. Here they can get more bang for their buck, more space for the same money.”

The 116ha site, which adjoins the new Bunnings and New World big box stores, is for sale by expressions of interest closing November 16.

City buyers are also looking at more than lifestyle properties in their search for coastal land.

Bayleys agent John Barnett, who is marketing a 301ha farm on the banks of the Kaipara Harbour, about an hour west of Wellsford and 90 minutes out of Auckland, said that he is targeting business investors who want to buy a waterfront property that is more than just a holiday place.

The property he is marketing, Pinehill Farm, on 392 and 421 Journeys End, on the Tapora Peninsula, is run by farm managers. Barnett said the buyer could take a hands-off approach and just enjoy the fishing hotspots, duck shooting and the locally famous Tapora golf course.

“This is a great investment opportunity, it’s a high value, well-put together farm,” he said, adding that neighbouring farms have converted to avocado production in the past decade, and this land is ideal for that. The farm has its own water supply, good infrastructure and four houses for owner, managers and staff.

“In my 15 years in the business, I’ve had a multitude of people who buy farms, build the luxury house and put a boat on the water. It’s a long-term investment with an upside, a business and lifestyle for the ‘Queen Street farmers’,” Barnett said.

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