A private bush retreat with its own waterhole and sandy beach near Thames fetched an impressive $370,000 above reserve as two Auckland buyers fought hard to secure their secluded piece of paradise.
The brought-forward auction for the Kauaeranga Valley Road bush property opened, and was on the market, at $1.1 million and swiftly rose in a mix of mainly $1000 and $50,000 bids before finally selling for $1.47m.
Read more:
- Bach across the road from Charlie Farley’s sells for $11.6m
Start your property search
- What happened to house prices in NZ’s cheapest holiday town?
- On for $1, but beach site half-eaten by the sea ends up selling for $100,000
But the original bidder who had been hopeful of picking it up for $1.1m after the owner accepted their offer which brought the auction date forward by two weeks walked away empty-handed after being knocked out by a final $9000 bid.
There was also a third buyer in the room who didn’t even get a chance to bid on the 9.33-hectare property, which had an RV of $840,000.
The property's clear sandy beach and pristine waterhole was a massive attraction for the out-of-town buyers. Photo / Supplied
Bayleys listing agent Glen Tanner said properties with direct river access attracted a lot of interest from nature lovers seeking a private property as they rarely came up for sale.
The two buyers who battled it out until the end had been looking to use it as a holiday home in the short-term before eventually moving in permanently, he added.
“It’s hard to find a property with a river boundary, with a sandy beach and a clear rocky bottom river just there.”
It also had an established feijoa orchard and other mature fruit trees.
The property had caught people’s attention from all over New Zealand and most had been looking at it as a permanent residence.
The property, which has a two-bedroom home and shed, is surrounded by bush and just a 10-minute drive from Thames.
The two-bedroom home had been in the same family for more than 40 years. Photo / Supplied
The same family had owned it for more than 40 years and had been stoked with the auction result after pocketing an extra $370,000, he said.
And while $1.47m to own a large piece of Coromandel bush with its own private waterhole might seem a bargain to Auckland buyers, Tanner said they had all done their homework and were well educated on what properties in the area were worth.
The same buyers interested in the Kauaeranga Valley Road property have also shown interest in another property at 586 Tapu Coroglen Road, in Tapu, which also had a river running through the property.
The much larger Rapaura Water Gardens is on a 26.2ha section earning itself an award-winning Garden of National Significance by the NZ Gardens Trust and Garden of Distinction by the Canterbury Horticulture Society that people pay to see.
The property, which is priced by negotiation, comprises a lodge, a one-bedroom cottage, two-bedroom house and a cafe that is not operating.
- Click here to find more properties for sale in Coromandel
