- Summer boosts on the horizon for Coromandel’s housing market, with wealthy buyers interested in large, underdeveloped sites.
- A vintage bach in Whangamatā sold for $8.5m, attracting five registered bidders.
- Phil Spencer’s new series highlights the Coromandel, energising buyers and showcasing luxury beach homes.
Summer is on the horizon, sale price records are being broken, and there’s a TV star highlighting the best that real estate has to offer. After a hard winter, the sun is finally shining on the Coromandel’s housing market.
Start your property search
The agents OneRoof talked to this week were upbeat. Wealthy buyers in Whangamatā, Whitianga and Pauanui, they said, are showing interest in large, underdeveloped sites, and seem willing to pay big money to secure their family’s spot by the beach.
Just this week, a vintage bach on a 1712sqm plot in Whangamatā sold "as is" at auction for $8.5 million - a record for the beach town. Five registered bidders competed for the property, and while it’s unclear what the successful buyer wants to do with it, an impressive build is on the cards based on the feedback at the open homes.
A waterfront bach on Beverley Terrace, in Whangamatā, sold under the hammer this week for $8.5m. Photo / Supplied
A bigger story for many is the appearance of Phil Spencer in the Coromandel. The star of Location, Location, Location was on Kiwi TV screens last week with his new series, New Zealand’s Best Homes With Phil Spencer, singing the praises of the district and its amazing baches.
Spencer’s visit took place last summer, but the show will help energise the current crop of buyers and homeowners. One of the beach homes he walked through is a sign of the Coromandel’s future.
The 500sqm Pauanui House, which dominates Champion Place, in Pauanui, is the culmination of a multi-year rebuild by its owners.
Discover more:
- Max Key’s epic villa sells to expats after price drop
- Wellington family's Coromandel retreat breaks record
- Bach sells for over $4m after just one phone call
They bought a 1990s house in early 2021 for $3.75m, just as the market was ramping up. They instructed Auckland architecture star Julian Guthrie to retain the original home’s concrete shell and bring his genius to everything else.
The new home has an RV of $6.81m, but knowing that build costs on luxury homes easily top $15,000 per square metre, the true value of the owners’ multi-generational bach would be worth a lot more on the open market.
Guthrie’s design is resplendent with cedar, poured concrete, and exquisite finishes.
Spencer was impressed by the waterfront Pauanui House, in Pauanui, which was created by award-winning architect Julian Guthrie. Photo / TVNZ
What the house looked like before its multi-year, multimillion-dollar overhaul. The owners purchased it four years ago for $3.75m. Photo / Supplied
Bayleys agent Dale Sholson, who brokered the sale of the property to the new owners four years ago, told OneRoof that its “rebirth” was a credit to the owners and builders.
Sholson, who also sold the $8.5m bach in Whangamatā this week, said that many buyers at the upper end of the market in his patch often replaced the existing home with something new or carried out extensive renovations.
“A lot of time, it’s people moving forward or upgrading the property to achieve a much larger place,” Sholson said.
“They might be one row back, so want to move towards the beachfront, or they want to modernise a beachfront home as opposed to rebuilding what they have.”
A bach next door to Pauanui House sold earlier this year for $3.6m. The owners plans to replace it with a new home. Photo / Supplied
Another Pauanui waterfront home sold for $3.265m this year. It will be replaced by a new building next year. Photo / Supplied
This year, Richardsons agent Hayden Roe sold two waterfront properties in the town – one of them a few doors down from Pauanui House.
Roe billed the quirky four-bedroom 1970s cedar place on Champion Place as an opportunity to renovate or build the dream beach home when it went on the market in March.
He understands the buyers, who paid $3.4m for the property, plan to upgrade the existing house before embarking on a major new build.
The new owners of a waterfront property on Courtney Close, at the northern end of the beach, plan to bowl the three-bedroom 1980s house and start building by early next year. They paid $3.265m for the site.
“The two properties had quite a different appeal. Some people want the south end, which is more swimming and surfing, whereas the north end has amazing views over the bar. You get the lights of Tairua and can watch the boats going in and out,” Roe said.
Bayleys agent Lea Jurkovich, who sells in the Whangamatā and Whitianga area, said that the waterfront market in both towns was insulated from market forces.
“It doesn’t matter what the market is, if it’s slow or if it’s high intensity, those waterfront buyers are always going to be there,” she said.
“In Hahei, where I live, waterfront properties are tightly held. It is hard to get in the door.”
Jurkovich said that land and location were what buyers cared about most. “I remember one sale years ago. I do not think the buyer even went through the house. Now they have built a beautiful Fearon Hay house there,” she said.
“These people, if the house is not what they are wanting, they just bowl it. People just bide their time until a spot comes up. It is always exciting to see these old places being rebuilt.
“I’m pleased that Phil Spencer has generated some activity. I think there might be a lot of enquiry.”
- Click here to find more houses for sale in Thames Coromandel
