A Pauanui bach known affectionately to locals as the “Witch Hat” has hit the market for sale for $799,000.
Harcourts Pauanui owner Alyce Rowe said 68A Vista Paku and its twin next door were iconic properties, and had even featured on a postcard of Pauanui in the 1980s. She said they were one of the first properties to be built in the beach town.
The “witches hats” were built in the 1970s by two friends for their families to spend their summers in, but they have changed hands several times over the years.
The current owner of 68A Vista Paku bought the two-bedroom holiday home 10 years ago and was reluctantly selling it to pursue other opportunities, Rowe said.
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“It’s a little bit bittersweet. He’s a bit sad about selling it, but it’s just the time has come to sell.”
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He used it as his holiday home but has also rented it out on Airbnb. “He’s actually got a big motorhome so it’s great that it’s got the parking space for that.”
Rowe said it would suit someone on their own or a couple who liked quirky or wanted an entry-level property in Pauanui. “It’s someone who likes that original Kiwiana bach feeling,” she said.
The owner of the rear witch hat told OneRoof that the houses attracted a lot of attention when they first moved in 25 years ago.
“Cars would often stop in the middle of the road, take photos and people would even come down the driveway to ask to look inside. The houses were quite famous in the area – one local builder told me that as kids, they used to run past because they were scared of the witchy-poo houses.”
Rowe said it was the cheapest property listing they had for sale in the town at the moment and was less than some of the sections the agency was selling.
The witch hats on Vista Paku, in Pauanui, were originally built by two families who were friends. Photo / Supplied
A 618sqm section with only a double garage at 5 Golden Hills Drive has an asking price of $895,000, while two cabins with a separate utility room on a 603sqm section on 8B Matataki Rise is seeking $795,000.
Rowe pointed out that the sections were full size whereas the witch hat was on a half-share site and a “unique style” property.
“It does show really good value for its location and what it offers.”
While a lot of the sections with the original utility had been built on over years, Rowe said there were some of the original sections with utilities left and others had built the house but kept the utility as an additional bathroom. An example of this is a four-bedroom Lockwood home at 200 Vista Paku, which is listed for sale for $1.13 million.
She said there had been the traditional lift in listings in the run-up to Labour Weekend and her agency was even due to list two properties for sale for auction, which was not a sales method they had used much so far this year.
The witch hat has its bedrooms upstairs and the top bedroom is accessed by a ladder. Photo / Supplied
The property has had new carpet, blinds, new double-glazed joinery and been re-roofed in recent years. Photo / Supplied
Even cheaper than the witch hat are several log cabins on unit titles in nearby Duck Creek. A two-bedroom, one-bathroom log cabin at 19/600 Hikuai-Settlement Road has an asking price of $380,000 and another at Unit 10, 600 Hikuai-Settlement Road is wanting $469,000. There are 15 cabins in the subdivision, which is about 5kms away from the Pauanui shops.
Richardson’s Real Estate listing agent Hayden Roe said 19/600 Hikuai-Settlement Road was by far one of the cheapest properties for sale close to Pauanui and would suit someone looking either for a rental investment or a retreat where they could relax and unwind.
Roe had noticed an increase in enquiry in beach properties, which he put down to renewed buyer confidence.
A two-bedroom log cabin in Duck Creek near Pauanui is for sale for $380,000. Photo / Supplied
“Buyers are saying they are now confident if they can afford to buy today they can afford the property tomorrow with signs of the interest rates declining.”
Roe might currently be selling some of Pauanui’s cheaper properties, but he also sold the town’s most expensive earlier this year. The newly renovated six-bedroom, five-bathroom beachfront property on Bonanza Place sold for a record-breaking $6.65m in April 2024 within 17 days of hitting the market for sale.
- 68A Vista Paku, in Pauanui, Thames-Coromandel, is for sale for $799,000
