A classic Kiwi bach on the Coromandel’s most expensive beachfront has sold under the hammer for $6.52 million – more than $2m above its 2020 RV and a sale price record for this year.
Demand for the three-bedroom beach house on Tangaroa Road, in Whangamata, was high, with four people actively bidding on it at auction on June 11.
The $6.52m sale price is the highest for Whangamata this year and second highest overall for the town, almost $1m shy of the record, $7.41m paid in June 2021 for a four-bedroom beachfront bach on Seaview Road.
The town’s third highest sale price was recorded in 2019 when a Hamptons-style three-bedroom home, also on Seaview Road, sold for $5.075m.
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Harcourts Whangamata owner Paul Prouse, whose agency sold the Tangaroa Road property, said there were only about 80 beachfront properties in Whangamata and they rarely came to market.
The Tangaroa Road bach, which sits on a 713sqm section at the quieter end of Whangamata, known as the Estuary, had been owned by the same family for 57 years.
Prouse said: “A lot of [baches in the town] are handed down in families. The sale price does demonstrate their value. I know a lot of the neighbours were surprised about what we managed to achieve for the property.”
He expected the buyers would eventually replace the existing bach with a new one. “It’s a very original sort of bach, which may or may not stay on the property. They’ve really bought the land.”
This luxury bach on Waitotara Way, in Whitianga, sold under the hammer for $6m. Photo / Supplied
Prouse said people loved Whangamata and often wouldn’t consider other nearby beach locations such as Pauanui, which was much quieter.
“People tend to like Whangamata for the infrastructure. It’s got a little bit more happening there in terms of bars and cafes and clubs and things like that. If you want to be on the water, it (Whangamata) is probably the most expensive in the Coromandel.”
Whangamata Real Estate agent Pete Sheppard said he recently sold a property on Patuwai Drive on the estuary waterfront for $3.61m, noting that market for properties on the estuary waterfront was different to the beachfront market, although demand was just as strong.
He said listings in the town were tight. “We haven’t had that big rush of supply. I think that’s partly because our demand is still quite high for Whangamata.”
At the time of writing there were only 47 properties for sale in Whangamata, up from a low of about 15 at the end of 2020. During the Global Financial Crisis in 2008, there were 400 properties up for sale in the beach town.
“We haven’t had that big rush of supply. I think that’s partly because our demand is still quite high for Whangamata.”
Sheppard said the higher end of the market hadn’t really been affected by the lending rules and while other parts of the market were still getting some good prices, it was “not the all-out sellers' market it was three months ago”.
Further north, in Whitianga, the situation seems similar, with a luxury home in the exclusive Whitianga Waterways selling under the hammer at a Bayleys Hamilton auction last Thursday for $6m. The four-bedroom, three-bathroom home was architecturally designed by David Page and is set on a large double site with views of the canal.
First National Pacific Coast owner Gordon Turner said it was all about location because there were plenty of buyers for properties either on or near the beach and the issue of coastal erosion didn’t seem to be dampening people’s demand for them.
“There seems to be an endless supply of buyers for beachfront and that’s because they are few and far between to get hold of a piece of the beach.”
Whereas the average selling time for a run-of-the-mill bach in the middle Whangamata was between 75 and 80 days, during normal times the average sale time was around 90 days. “Things are still selling a little bit quicker, but heavily dependent on price. Buyers are nervous, buyers are holding back.”
However, he added that he had not noticed any drastic drop in property values at this stage.
Find more properties for sale in Whangamata here.
