Coromandel agents are doing anything but relax in their tourist hotspots because their phones and inboxes are going “mental” with people on the hunt for holiday homes now that the new road linking the beach towns to Auckland and Hamilton is open.
In the last few days, agents in Pauanui, Whangamatā, Whitianga and Hahei told OneRoof they have noticed a dramatic rise in the number of people looking for houses.
The popular beach towns struggled last year with fewer visitors going to the towns after State Highway 25A Taparahi between Kōpū and Hikuai was closed for nine months for repairs after being destroyed in a storm at the start of last year, adding hours to people’s journeys.
But just weeks after motorists were given an early Christmas when the road re-opened three months ahead of schedule, they are noticing a big lift in the number of people looking at property again.
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Harcourts Pauanui business owner Alyce Rowe said they had been inundated with enquiries since the start of this week with her office fielding more enquiries in one day this week than they had in an entire week at the end of last year.
“It’s gone mental.”
An open home for a three-bedroom, two-bathroom classic Kiwi bach on Vista Paku in Pauanui on Saturday was one of the busiest they have had in a long time and by Sunday two offers had been tabled. Both offers were from Waikato buyers wanting a holiday home, but Rowe said there was a lot of interest from Aucklanders too.
The property was listed at Labour weekend, but a price reduction from $1.145 million to $1.095m just before Christmas appeared to hit the sweet spot with buyers.
“If the price is right that’s when we get about 10 people through the open home and it’s like ‘yay we’ve got the price right now’.”
A property on Kiwi Road in Whangamatā, also went into a multi-offer situation at the weekend. Photo / Supplied
Another property at 100B Kiwi Road, in Whangamatā, with an asking price of $1.7m also went into a multi-offer situation at the weekend, which was something that Rowe said hadn’t happened at all last year.
“Multi-offers are coming back.”
Rowe said the early opening of State Highway 25A caught people by surprise and the real test would be in the next few weeks.
“I think Anniversary Weekend and Waitangi will just be gangbusters here because owners who have gone away elsewhere will be coming to Pauanui.”
Ray White Whangamatā salesperson Andrew McGee had the most enquiries at the weekend in more than two years, adding the last time he was that busy was during Labour Weekend 2021.
“I think 100% the road has made a difference. Basically, there’s more Auckland buyers. For most of last year, a lot of our buyers were from Hamilton and now we are getting much more enquiry from Auckland.
“They are looking at everything from the entry-level, the middle and the high-end. Last year there was a lot of entry-level sold and the mid-range had fewer sales so that’s another change that’s just been happening in the last few months.”
Entry-level properties in Whangamatā start from around $700,000 such as this two-bedroom, two-bathroom property on Bruce Wallace Place that has an asking price of $765,000. Photo / Supplied
McGee expected to see more multi-offers coming in because of the increased demand, which would also result in prices increasing.
“I would say yes values in Whangamatā are good value now, but they will definitely be lifting.”
Entry-level homes home in the town had dropped significantly since the peak of the market and houses could now be picked up in the $700,000s.
A two-bedroom, two-bathroom home on 100b Bruce Wallace Place is for sale for $765,000, while a two-bedroom, one-bathroom home at 145a Mayfair Avenue has an asking price of $960,000. OneRoof records show it last changed hands for $555,653 in February 2020.
Another property at 140b Sharyn Place, in Whangamatā, is to be sold at auction next month after selling for $1,100,200 at the peak of the market in November 2021.
A property on Hahei Beach Road is attracting people looking to get a foothold in the popular holiday spot. Photo / Supplied
Bayleys salesperson Lea Jurkovich, who is based in Hahei, said the phones have started to ring more and there had been a rise in the number of people popping into the Whitianga office now that the area was suddenly more accessible again.
“Now people are out of that holiday mode and going back to work they are thinking let’s do something, let’s look at different options.”
While most people were shopping for holiday homes, others were also looking to relocate.
“People are just starting to come in and making enquiries. People are now back into that mode of thinking we should relocate from our region.”
She has been working with a Northland couple looking to relocate to the area and had also seen a surge in people looking for entry-level homes in Hahei such as a four-bedroom, three-bathroom home at 37 Hahei Beach Road. A home on Harsant Avenue sold for about $1.4m in October 2023, which she said was the last entry-level sale in the town.
“People who have been holidaying here for 20 years and they keep delay buying, thinking ‘it’s a bit too expensive for me’ and then it keeps going up.”
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