Several award-winning lifestyle properties on an exclusive peninsula in the Western Bay of Plenty have hit the market with price tags of between $15.5 million and $20m that would leave the current record for the region in tatters and dwarf previous high sales that have struggled to even hit $5m.
With coastal areas such as Pahoia, Whakamārama and Ōmokoroa growing in popularity, one agent said it won’t be long before the current $5.6m record achieved in 2021 for a lifestyle property on Jess Road in Whakamārama is smashed.
An architectural four-bedroom, four-bathroom home on the Pahoia Peninsula has an asking price of $15.5m and, according to the Oliver Road listing, “offers undisputable luxury”. The address has been withheld, but listing photos show it looks out towards Waihi.
Read more:
Start your property search
- Overseas Kiwi snaps up local legend’s lifestyle block for $1.55m
- $11m-plus spending spree: Neighbouring baches snapped up on same day
- 'Classic' pink bach sells for just over $1m
The exceptional home, which was designed by Noel Jessop and built by D&B Construction, picked up multiple awards in 2019, the listing said.
Oliver Road declined to comment further on the exclusive property, adding more details are available to qualified buyers who signed a non-disclosure agreement.
Another larger luxury 1000sqm home, also on the Pahoia Peninsula, is being marketed by Ray White listing agent Ross Hawkins.
The listing for a 340H Pahoia Road described the five-bedroom, four-bathroom home as a “coveted private retreat inspired by world-class luxury and modernist architecture” located “in a piece of private paradise”.
The property’s impressive features include a heated in-ground swimming pool, cedar hot tub, all-weather tennis court with Paul Dibble-commissioned water fountain, multi-level astro-turf putting green, and a bunkhouse and natural hot spring pool and soak pool at the water’s edge.
It was designed by award-winning architects Warren & Mahoney and scooped up an NZIA regional architecture award in 2011.
A luxury five-bedroom, four-bathroom home on Pahoia Road, in Pahoia, has an asking price of $20m. Photo / Supplied
Aucklanders have just this week bought a 1ha beachfront section in Pahoia to escape the rat race. Photo / Supplied
Hawkins declined to comment about the Pahoia Road property, but said in general there was plenty of money floating around at the moment whether it be from running successful businesses or selling them, inheritance, or young entrepreneurs making substantial money out of global businesses and people were happy to spend it when the right trophy property came up.
While Queenstown had a large number of substantial builds that fetched $10m-plus, he said it was completely different in some of the North Island coastal locations where high-calibre homes were rare and had previously been unavailable to buy. He did not think price in some of these locations would be a barrier, especially when compared to what the replacement cost for some of these homes would be.
He said people were starting to favour buying existing homes because the cost of building new, especially in coastal areas, was proving too costly.
“There’s a lot of people who bought at Tawa Iti [in Mangawhai] and places like that and were going to build massive houses and when they’ve got their build prices they have put them on hold because it’s just so massive.”
Just this week, Bayleys salesperson Brent Trueman sold a vacant 1.09-hectare section on Pahoia Road, in Pahoia, to Aucklanders looking to escape the rat race. The exact sales price could not be revealed, but it has an RV of $2.255m.
In March last year, local business people paid $2.8m for a neighbouring 1ha section. Both owners plan to build lovely permanent homes on the beachfront sections, Trueman said.
A six-bedroom, six-bathroom mansion on a 1ha section at 59D Western Ave, in Ōmokoroa, has a price indication of $6m-plus. Photo / Supplied
“It’s just the Kiwi dream really down there because you’ve got your own beach and it’s not muddy when the tide goes out, it’s hard sand.”
Pahoia attracted a mix of wealthy businesspeople looking for a lifestyle change and families wanting to be in the popular school zones, he added.
“I would say 60% of my sales around here – Pahoia, Ōmokoroa and Whakamārama – are just to get the kids into schools for zoning. They are really popular schools and just a super cool environment for families. The local golf club has got a youth academy, there’s a sailing school, there’s children athletics on in the evening over summer, there is kids tennis – anything really the kids want to do is here.”
Pahoia provided lifestyle living, he said, but was also close to Ōmokoroa which in the past 10 years had grown from a small seaside village to a thriving town.
“You can still stay greenbelt but be five minutes away from all that stuff if you want it. You are only 15 minutes from Tauranga City as well.”
Trueman expected the area’s popularity would only continue to thrive as the infrastructure was developed including the soon-to-be-completed Takitimu North link four-lane expressway made it even more accessible to Tauranga. The Village shopping centre opened this year and a new primary school and secondary school on the corner of Prole Road and Ōmokoroa Road are due to open in 2026.
While he’s sold plenty of properties in the $3m to $4m price range, he said anything above that level was relatively rare until now.
He’s currently marketing a standout property with views out to Pahoia Peninsula that he expects to sell for $6m-plus.
“When that sells that will set the benchmark.”
But while luxury homes in Queenstown can fetch $30m, Trueman said it was a completely different market in the Western Bay of Plenty.
“Our market here isn’t ready for that – that’s Queenstown stuff. I struggle to believe that anybody is going to buy out there when they can buy for half that – not even half that – in Oceanbeach Road in Mount Maunganui.”
For those with a slightly smaller budget, there’s also substantial lifestyle properties available for $2m which have everything people want, he said.
An older style family home at 196 Whakamārama Road on 2.52ha with a pool, sea views and even its own glow worms is for sale, while a newer five-bedroom, two-bathroom brick home at 535 Esdaile Road, in Pahoia, also offers a nice home with views for those with a budget of around $2m.
- Click here to find more properties for sale in Whakamārama
