Tauranga’s largest remaining waterfront property which dwarfs all its neighbours and is bigger than many lifestyle sections is being sold in an estate sale.
The same family has owned the 1960s home on 46 Ranui Street, in Matua for 57 years and over that time collected some of the surrounding land to grow their waterside offering to 7816sqm on three lots over two separate titles. Other sections on the street range in size from about 600sqm to 1200sqm.
New Zealand Sotheby’s International Realty listing agent Richard Laery could not recall the last time such a large site came up for sale on Tauranga’s waterfront due to them being rare and so tightly held.
“It’s very significant and a lot of it is obviously waterfront ... it’s just an amazing, amazing property.”
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The property sits on an elevated site but the land runs directly to the foreshore, with just a council footpath separating the property from the water.
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Laery said Matua along with Mount Maunganui were the two top places to live in Tauranga.
Mt Maunganui has the surf beach and a busier vibe that tended to attract a younger clientele, he said, while Matua was a quieter, family-friendly suburb offering extensive harbour views and closer to the CBD.
There's also a big price gap between the two areas. A beachfront property on Oceanbeach Road in Mt Maunganui broke the record for the surf town in 2022 when it sold for $11 million, while a near-new home on Waratah Way, in Matua, sold for $5.8m last year making it one of the suburb’s biggest sales, according to OneRoof-Valocity data. The most expensive house to sell on Ranui Street in the last decade was a nearby property on a 1098sqm site that sold for $3m in 2018.
“Definitely Matua is not as expensive as the Mount, but it is a very good family area with amazing views really. They are totally different areas – they are almost sort of like Takapuna and Parnell – they are just different.
“It’s (Matua) got views of the harbour. You can see the cruise ships coming in. It’s just a niche area, there’s only one way in and one way out in Matua.”
Laery said the property, which was being sold by tender, had a lot of potential and could either suit a high-net person who wanted to build their dream home on a private site, someone who wanted to renovate the house and hold the land or someone who wanted to develop the site which was narrow on the roadside but wider closer to the water.
Land around the 1960s home at 46 Ranui Street, in Matua, was acquired over time by the current family. Photo / Supplied
The thermal spa pool is filled by a hot water bore on the section. Photo / Supplied
“A well-to-do person could come in and keep the existing house, it’s built very well and just live in it and hold it, or just rebuild it and do a few add-ons of whatever they want to do.”
It also has a thermal spa filled with its own hot water bore and what is rumoured to be the Bay of Plenty’s first avocado tree.
Valocity senior research analyst Wayne Shum said it was undoubtedly one of the biggest waterfront properties as most had already been developed.
“There’s not that many big sites left on the waterfront.”
Its size was also due to the fact it spanned over two titles whereas most were on a single title, he said.
Tremains salesperson agent Mark Francis said waterfront properties in Tauranga were significantly cheaper than those in Mt Maunganui.
There hadn’t been too many sales of properties for more than $1.6m in the last year, he said, and those that sold for above $1.6m were in Mt Maunganui.
However, Francis said not everybody wanted to live in Mt Maunganui. “I am still seeing and hearing from people coming from the Mount saying they are sick and tired of all the traffic and they have been selling up.”
It had also happened over Covid-19, he said, when some of the older, longer Mount residents had decided to cash in their expensive Mount Maunganui homes and move to Tauranga to put some money in the bank and have a quieter outlook, he said.
A large home and granny flat at 23B Kings Road, is another waterfront property also for sale in Matua. Photo / Supplied
Matua was often the top choice for those wanting to be on the water, while those looking for high-quality residential areas would also look at The Avenues, Bethlehem, and Pillans Point in Otūmoetai for the sea views.
Francis said the make-up of residents in Matua had changed over the last few years as older people moved out of their larger homes to retirement villages and were replaced by younger families wanting the sought-after schools.
He’s selling an original 1990s property at 23B Kings Avenue, in Matua, with uninterrupted views out to Te Puna, to someone looking to get onto the waterfront or a renovator who wanted to make the most of the location.
The “quirky” floor plan comprises a two-bedroom flat downstairs and a four-bedroom home upstairs.
“You’ve got all the water views out towards that area north and northwest.” There’s also direct access from the property to the water via a sloping path.
The owners had left the area and the property was now priced by negotiation.
- Click here to find more waterfront properties for sale in Tauranga
