The hunt for the wilder bach

The iconic Kiwi bach, painted a patchwork of greens and pinks and hung together by corrugated iron, is giving way to holiday homes with multiple bathrooms and internal access garages but there are still some of the old traditional ones to be found dotted around the country.

Northland is a good place to start for those hunting for a place to hang out while Covid-19 has put the brakes on overseas travel.

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Tom Rutherford, from Harcourts Bay of Islands, says his agency is asked on a daily basis about baches, locations and prices and while there are fewer traditional baches out there if people are prepared to go further north they can still find affordable ones.

“I guess it’s a bit of a hide-and-seek scenario compared to what it used to be probably only five-odd years ago.

“A lot of traditional family baches we’ve seen are wanting to stay within families so there’s definitely a limit coming to the market as families see value and, ironically enough, probably Covid has enhanced the family values with people wanting to retain them and pass on to grandchildren which in a way is lovely to see.”

But that also means fewer are available and the age-old saying location, location, location affects the price. “Those that are on the beach with lovely sea views have seen a substantial price increase over the years but there are still little wonderful spots,” Rutherford says.

“At Karikari Peninsula (in the Far North) you’re still finding sections with a peek of the sea for $100,000-odd thousand to build on.”

The ferry at Russell in the Bay of Islands. Photo / Getty Images

In Coopers Bay, Cable Bay and the Taipa area some holiday homes can be found for around $500,000 and you might also get a limited peek of the sea for that price.

“Like all things, the flasher you go, the closer you go to the water, the more it goes up and it’s not uncommon to see million-dollar houses in prime locations.”

In Paihia, stock is limited but if people look around the nearby Opua area and areas outside the main centre but still within a 20 minute drive, such as Opua and Kawakawa, they might find a bach.

“If you don’t want a sea view and are happy to have a lovely family bach, there are still places you can secure for around that half a million. In Paihia, you probably need the three quarters of a million and if you have a peek of the sea you’re probably looking at $800,000-plus.”

Northland’s time in the sun

In the last six months Northland has seen a big increase in demand from mainly Aucklanders with camp sites and Airbnbs also in demand.

“Queenstown might have had its winter but we see Northland as having its summer and people are saying it really is just over a three-hour drive to some of the most beautiful beaches anywhere.”

For a four-and-a-half hour drive from Auckland, people might be able to find a bach at Ahipara on Ninety Mile Beach on the sea front for a good half-a-million dollars, but if they are prepared to go back a few blocks they might get one for $350,000, and it’s still only a ten minute drive to some of the world’s best surf spots, says Rutherford.

While Ahipara is a bit further to drive, he says one of the joys of Northland is it’s so skinny it doesn’t take long to get from one side to another.

“You’ve got all that west coast – the Hokianga Harbour has some absolute gems and there are places like Kohukohu if you want that old country pub but with a harbour for boating. There are still wonderful spots but you have to have that time to dig around, go online, find the location and start going outwards from there.

“You still do see, literally, the green fibrolite bach, that seems to be the colour from the 50s and 60s, and I think it’s probably the same mattresses slapped on the bed.”

Kaye McElwain, from Ray White in Mangawhai, says her patch has changed a lot over the last few years and while most properties are still absent owners there are more permanent residents moving in.

Mangawhai is close to Auckland and offers a relaxed vibe and pristine beaches. Photo / Getty Images

Where you used to be able to get a bach for under $500,000 now you’d be hard pressed to get anything under $800,000, and that’s for a pretty basic model.

The older part of Mangawhai is sought after and even in the new subdivisions springing up it’s a struggle to find anything for $700,000.

“There’s certainly some high value waterfront properties which are selling for considerable dollars more.”

The old part of Mangawhai still has traditional baches, and last year her agency sold a section with a little shack and a shed on it in the mid $500,000s, but that would more likely sell for between $650,00 and $700,000 now.

“There’s been quite a shift and, like Auckland, it’s solely due to demand outstripping supply.”

She recommends looking on the west side for more entry level buying.

“Where we are is the narrowest isthmus in New Zealand so you can be on an East Coast beach and then within 25 minutes you can be on one of the Kaipara Harbour waterways, so it’s not necessarily a West Coast beach but you can have access through to the harbour.”

Sold: Lot/158 Rangiora Road, in Kaiwaka, had been on the market for $770,000. Photo / Supplied

Kaiwaka is becoming increasingly popular as it’s only 15 minutes from Mangawhai and her agency recently sold a two-bedroom cottage with a sleepover on a little bit of land but with a water view for just over $650,000 and a 12 year-old house by the water which had been on the market for $770,000.

McElwain says it’s well worth looking over in the Kaipara Harbour area, even though it is a bit further to drive.

“The thing is it’s actually a real break from the city whereas in Mangawhai you do tend to on the busy periods to find it’s full of people from Auckland so sometimes you’re not getting the break you thought you were going to get – but you do have the beautiful surf beach and the estuary gives lots of opportunities, whether it’s kayaking or some of the swimming holes and jet skiing and all those other things people like to do.”

And Mangawhai is still cheaper than nearby Omaha on the Matakana coast which has become more of an exclusive suburb for the well-heeled and where properties can cost multiple millions of dollars.

“It’s a very competitive market for real estate because they’re high dollar values there’s a lot of competition now for sales people and agencies whereas Mangawhai is still seen as quite a good option.”

‘People really want modern’

In parts of the Coromandel, baches are few and far between, says Mary Walker of Bayleys.

“If you find one for sale anywhere, it’s good. Look in Whangapoua, Cooks Beach, Hahei and Whitianga where there’s still what we call baches for sale, which is either your converted garage with a utility-type set up or the little two-bedroom cottage.

“People today are probably preferring to have more modern baches than what in the old days we would class as a bach - there’s not many of those now. People really want modern lock and go.”

Entry level in Whitianga is around $600,000 and that’s for something pretty basic, and, like everywhere, the price depends on the location and by the beach can set you back $2 million.

For more entry-level pricing, Walker says look in Thames and along the Thames Coast where there is still good buying and it’s only an hour and a half from Auckland.

“Over on the Eastern seaboard, at Cooks, Hahei, those prices have got up but for good value for money I would say Thames and the Thames Coast.”

Thames, an old gold-mining town, has been under-valued for some time and there are some beautiful spots up the coast, she says.

Coromandel township, at the top of the peninsula, still probably also represents good value for money and also has a ferry to and from Auckland. “Aucklanders can jump on the ferry and come over, have the weekend at their bach and then go home again on Sunday afternoon.”

Greig Metcalfe, of LJ Hooker Raglan, says there are still some baches available – a run-down one on a half share section recently sold for $500,000. “It’s a fibrolite box that’s had no work done on it for a long time on a half share cross lease section so that’s entry level in Raglan now.”

Raglan is renowned for its surfing. Photo / Getty Images

More expensive properties can sell for $2.5 million, he says, and recommends looking further afield if you want a real bargain. He just bought one in Wairoa in the Hawkes Bay for $131,500. The little house needs another $25,000 spent on it and could be used as a funky bach.

Wairoa is on the coast and is affordable with surf beaches and all that the Mahia Peninsula offers just up the road.

If people want to get more inventive, Metcalfe says check out Maori leasehold land. He owns a property at the head of the harbour in Raglan where a Maori trust owns property with about 40 baches which sell for about a third of the freehold price. “There’s quite a lot of that through New Zealand. Kawhia has a lot of it, New Plymouth has quite a lot.”

There is the lease to pay, and people should check out the conditions, such as whether there is a right of renewal, and most have rent review dates.

“But it’s a way of getting champagne beach bach on a poor man’s budget if you like. Europe’s full of leasehold type of property. It certainly works well for us and the other people out where we are.”

If you are down in Wellington looking for a bach on the Kapiti Coast, however, you may well be out of luck.

Ceinwen Howard of Howard & Co Realty says there are a few around but most baches are getting demolished because land is so valuable, as there’s hardly any left, particularly beachfront or along the beach coast.

“It’s very, very common they are now demolished and people do a brand new build on them, and people are building to live there.

“It used to be very much a lot of holiday homes that had been in the same family literally for generations, and we’ve still got a bit of that but more and more we’re getting 100 per cent residency because with transmission underway and a great train and bus service we’re really just a suburb of Wellington now.”

People would have to look at places like Waitarere Beach and Foxton, although even those spots are growing with more permanent residents, she says.