A luxury home described as being “as good as waterfront” sold under the hammer this week for $3.22 million, making it the most expensive property to sell in Whangamata so far this year.
The auction for the four-bedroom, three-bathroom home on Rutherford Road, just one back from the water, was brought forward after less than two weeks on the market. There were two people competing for it on Thursday.
The auction opened at $3.21m when it was also announced on the market and, after one $10,000 bid from an out-of-town buyer, was secured by the original bidder for $3.22m.
The Coromandel property market was hit hard earlier this year due to bad weather and the closure of the Kopu-Hikuai Road, adding more than an hour to people’s journeys.
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However, Bayleys listing agent Dale Sholson said the auction showed there was still demand for quality high-end homes and people were returning to the auction room to compete for them after a “colder winter”.
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“This is a significant sale for Whangamata that’s for sure,” Sholson told OneRoof.
The property, which last changed hands in 2015 for $1.4m and had a 2020 RV of $2.11m, had attracted 12 groups through its first open home held over Labour Weekend with people from Auckland, Hamilton and Tauranga all showing interest. Within two weeks the vendors had accepted an offer good enough to bring the auction forward.
The new owner lives locally and appeared to eventually plan to permanently reside in the home, he said.
Sholson said both the vendor and purchaser were happy with the result.
The four-bedroom, three-bathroom home just across from the water and near the Whangamata Marina was snapped up by a local buyer. Photo / Supplied
Homes such as this property, just one back from the water on Rutherford Road, are still commanding the highest prices in Whangamata. Photo / Supplied
The property is the most expensive to sell in the seaside town this year, trumping an earlier sale also made by Sholson when a deceased estate on a 4002sqm lifestyle waterfront section on Aileen Place, in Whangamata, sold for $3.1m in May, according to OneRoof analysis of settled sales.
The $3.22m Rutherford Road sale is still well below the town’s record, which dates back to June 2021, when a four-bedroom beachfront bach on Seaview Road sold in a private sale for $7.41m. The top auction sale was recorded in June last year when a classic Kiwi bach on Tangaroa Road sold under the hammer at a Harcourts auction for $6.52m.
Harcourts Whangamata and Pauanui owner Alyce Rowe expected to see more properties be sold by auction in the next few months and said they had a unique property at 100B Kiwi Road, in Whangamata, using that sales method for the first time in a number of months.
Rowe said it had been a slow start to the year, but sales numbers in August and September had started to pick up to similar levels as previous years.
“I think that was a reflection of the road closure, storms – we had everything against us in the market here for a while.”
However, she said interest was starting to pick up now that the election was over and summer was coming.
The Tangaroa Road bach is the most expensive house to ever sell at auction in Whangamata, netting $6.52m last June. Photo / Supplied
“We will see a return of auctions just because it’s the season we are coming into, there are more buyers coming back into the market. It’s kind of a little bit early to tell in terms of sales.”
Bayleys auctioneer Stephen Shale, who is calling 100 auctions this month including nine in the Coromandel on November 27, expected between 5% and 10% of those auctions to be brought forward.
“Chances are there will be 5/6/7 brought forwards, which is probably a more normal reflection of an active market. But Christmas has a natural urgency anyway so I think there will be decisions made.”
Shale said while only about half of those called at auction would sell, it was still a big improvement from when just a quarter were selling under the hammer.
“People that are waiting for next year are going to be faced with more competition because there’s just more stock arriving and buyers who are waiting for the prices to fall, I think we are through that period now and they are going to be flat to improving, but they certainly won’t be declining.”
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