Campbells Bay, just ten minutes north of Takapuna, is one of Auckland’s more tightly held suburbs.
Agents like to call it boutique as it is home to just 3000 people and 1000 properties, most of which are the pricier end of the housing market.
Locals rate the deep swimming beach – in fact, many on the North Shore prefer it to the shallower, tidal beaches in neighbouring Mairangi Bay and Castor Bay – and the scenic coastal path, from which walkers can take in the views of Rangitoto Island and glimpse some of suburb’s big cliff-top mansions.
For families, Campbells Bay offers a top primary school and is in zone the highly rated Westlake Girls and Westlake Boys high schools. Even the local intermediate, Murrays Bay, is seen as a drawcard.
Start your property search
Barfoot & Thompson agent Nadja Court said all of the above makes homes in Campbells Bay desirable but also tightly held, as families stay put once they are in.
“It’s the next step up [for buyers on the Shore]. Although many parts of the suburb are similar to neighbouring Takapuna and Milford, but it’s much quieter. It also has fewer through-roads, so doesn’t feel as a busy as some of the other bays,” she said.
“There’s Centennial Park, the Golf Club, a tennis club. You always see people out walking the dog or putting in the kayak for a paddle.
“And it’s still close to the CBD - that really matters.”
Court said that the ultimate landing spot for Campbells Bay is on the cliff-top – but those only come up when long-term owners are downsizing, or families are selling a deceased estate.
Campbells Bay is quieter than its bay neighbours to the north and south. Photo / Fiona Goodall
Cliff-top properties can start at $4.5 million for a vacant half site and can go as high as $12m-plus.
“Buyers are sitting and waiting for those,” Court said.
Homes that sit back from the waterfront range in price from $3.5m to $5m, with nice family homes starting at $3m and entry-level, smaller homes on cross-lease sites hovering around the $2m mark. New apartments or town houses can fetch $2m, depending on the view, Court said.
Desirable streets are Centennial Drive, Park Rise, the cliff-side of Beach Road and parts of Aberdeen Road leading down to the park. A clutch of properties on The Esplanade, beside the beach, have CVs of more than $10m.
Premium agent Lewis Guy said the suburb’s proximity to Milford and Takapuna was a big draw for people looking on the Shore, adding that Campbells Bay is as about as “as far north as they’ll go”.
The view from the clifftops is breath-taking. Photo / Fiona Goodall
"It’s a boutique area, it has easy access to both Castor Bay and Mairangi Bay beaches, and families gravitate to that,” he said, adding that families don’t tend to worry about the comparative lack of local shops and restaurants as there are plenty of good offerings in the neighbouring suburbs to the north and south.
Guy said that the big estates are so tightly held buyers should be prepared to do a bit of work to get them up to scratch when they do come up for sale.
“For prime cliff-top properties, people might pay $10m as there are only a handful of them, even if some need a lot of money spent on them.”
Just before Covid, the suburb made headlines when a semi-derelict house on the cliff-top Beach Road, in the same family for over a century, sold for $5m to a developer planning to build two homes on the 2459sqm site. The top recent sale was $9.25m paid for a five-bedroom resort-style home on 3665sqm on Red Bluff Rise at the end of 2019.
Two of the best
1/164 Beach Road
Boasting a clear view of the bay and just minutes from the beach, this three-bedroom low maintenance home comes with a large open-plan kitchen and comfortable living spaces.
Barfoot & Thompson’s Nadja Court takes the home to auction on April 28.
-----------
275 Beach Road
South of Campbells Bay Beach and perched on a half-acre cliff-top site is this Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired single-level four-bedroom house that boasts stunning views.
Listed with Precision Real Estate's Andrew Dorreen.
