Property owners dreaming of their own slice of paradise are spoilt for choice in Pukehina with a large number of properties for sale in the small Bay of Plenty town, and more than half of those right on the beach.
The number of properties for sale in the Bay of Plenty East Coast beach town, sandwiched between Tauranga and Whakatane, has surged with 40 new properties listed on OneRoof between January and August this year compared to just six in the same eight-month period last year.
There were 25 properties in Pukehina listed for sale on OneRoof at the time of publication and of those 15 were beachfront.
But as summer creeps closer, Ray White Pukehina owner Rochelle Carter said the sought-after beachfront properties, especially those elevated for sea views and with easy beach access, will start selling.
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There are a lot more properties on the market at the moment, she said, but seven of those properties are due to locals trading up to either a beachfront property, lifestyle property or larger home.
The most recent property to sell on the prime beachfront location was a 97sqm cottage on a freehold site at Pukehina Parade for $1.549 million.
Entry-level two-bedroom beachfront properties in the beach town are “very popular” and are usually priced between $1.6m and $1.9m on the rare occasion they get listed, she said.
Carter expects a Batik-inspired two-bedroom beachfront property at 485 Pukehina Parade with a boardwalk to the beach and an asking price of $1.89m will be snapped up soon, but is also selling several other beachfront properties on the parade.
A four-bedroom home at 55 Pukehina Parade, elevated with good beach access for a quad bike, is for sale for $2.29m, while 509 Pukehina Parade is a modern three-bedroom home with three-car garaging and an asking price of $2.5m.
A three-bedroom home at 509 Pukehina Parade has an asking price of $2.5m. Photo / Supplied
A four-bedroom bach at 55 Pukehina Parade is looking for buyers with $2.29m. Photo / Supplied
At the higher end of the market, a four-bedroom, two-bathroom home described as “magnificent” and “bespoke” is listed with an asking price of $2.89m. https://www.oneroof.co.nz/289-pukehina-parade-pukehina-western-bay-of-plenty-bay-of-plenty-1741202
While there are still a number of baches in the town, Carter said holiday homes are gradually being replaced with permanent family homes as quite a few Aucklanders move into the town wanting three-to-four-bedroom homes.
A large three-bedroom, two-bathroom family home on Pukehina Parade with beach access across the road sold for $1.04m in April.
Carter said people love Pukehina because it is “a small community of like-minded people”, offers good schools and has easy access to Tauranga, Mount Maunganui, Rotorua and Whakatane.
“Pukehina offers white-baiting, fishing, crayfish, shellfish, surfing, kayaking, long-boarding, jet skis, boating, quad bikes on the beach. We have a fabulous volunteer fire brigade with a paramedic vehicle. The supermarkets deliver the groceries here, the school bus picks up the children and drops them off, there is no need to travel unnecessarily.”
This three-bedroom family home on Pukehina Parade sold for $1.04 million in April. Photo / Supplied
A four-bedroom beachfront house on Pukehina Parade sold earlier this year for $1.549m. Photo / Supplied
There have been concerns raised about coastal erosion in Pukehina, but residents have been working hard to put protections in place including planting healthy native dune grasses in front of beach front properties.
First National Tauranga manager Cameron Hooper said there were more houses on the market and said it was probably getting more pressure from existing stock not selling either.
Beach properties have gone from being snapped up within a couple of weeks of being listed and are now taking a lot longer to sell due to fewer enquiries, he said.
Some houses have also had several hundred thousand dollars knocked off their original asking price.
“There’s a lot more price reductions happening at the moment out there and they are finding their new level of market value.”
But Hooper doesn’t think confidence in the market will return until 2023 as people continue to hold off due to concerns that they may pay too much if they buy now.
“Whenever that settles down, I think confidence will slowly return and people will come back into the market albeit at a new price.”
Hooper said Pukehina is both “beautiful” and “pretty unique” and can’t really be compared to Maketu or even Karewa Parade in Papamoa.
“You are still $2m for beachfront down there – that's still pretty reasonable I suppose wherever you look. You’ve just got to commute or be happy with the drive.”
Because the town was “only a thin strip” there is a good proportion of beachfront and estuary front homes.
“The estuary’s just as nice as beachfront because even though it’s tidal, it still had a nice bit of water out the front as well.”
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