- Whitianga's Carina Way property sold for $571,000 after a previous sale fell through.
- The 501sqm property includes a 90sqm garage with a laundry, benchtop, and bathroom.
- The new owner plans to add cabins and use it as a family holiday base.
Whitianga’s fanciest beach shed has sold for $571,000 for the second time in three months.
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The Carina Way property was first sold at a tense $1 reserve auction in October. The South Island buyer paid the deposit for the spacious utility shed in October, but failed to pay the remaining sum by the agreed settlement date.
The “gutted” owner relisted the 501sqm property just before Christmas with an asking price of $571,000 – the same price it fetched at auction. By early January, three offers had been presented in a multi-offer situation, and it sold for the vendor's desired price.
The large storage shed has a kitchenette, a laundry, a heat pump, and a smart vent system. Photo / Supplied
The well-appointed storage shed includes a full bathroom. Photo / Supplied.
Bayleys listing agent Belinda Sammons said her client was pleased to sell the property so soon after the first deal fell over. “It was a really great outcome. Everyone is pretty happy with it all,” she told OneRoof.
The Carina Way property is unusual in that it comes with a 90sqm garage and utility building that has a full laundry, benchtop and bathroom. The shed itself does not have the required consent for bedrooms, but there is room on the section to park a tent or caravan.
Sammons said the new owner bought it as an investment and planned to put cabins on the section for her and her family to sleep in.
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“It’s entry level for Whitianga. So, you can use it as a holiday base, which is pretty much what it’s going to be. The new owner will put some cabins on it and have a no-fuss lock-and-leave option.”
Most of the interest had come from buyers from outside the Coromandel, including parties from Auckland, Waikato and the Bay of Plenty.
Everyone who made an offer on it had been holidaying in the area over the Christmas holidays and were different to the 20-plus registered bidders who turned up to the $1 reserve auction in October.
Sections in Whitianga's Waterways such as this one at 8 Norma Way can be picked up for between $450,000 and $500,000. Photo / Supplied
Properties with fewer covenants, such as this 1030sqm section at 1C White Street, give buyers more options and tend to fetch a premium. Photo / Supplied
Vacant sections in the Coromandel town tend to hover around the $500,000 mark, with one such property at 8 Norma Way, in Whitianga Waterways, for sale for $495,000.
Richardson's listing agent Abby Lawrence told OneRoof earlier this month that sections with restrictive covenants could be picked up for around $500,000, while those in the older parts of town and with fewer covenants sold for a premium.
Lawrence said while the covenants helped to protect the character of the town, there were still property owners who wanted sections with fewer rules.
“If we have a section that has relaxed covenants, generally those sell a bit quicker because you can come and holiday with a caravan on the section for as long as you need. Being the king or queen of your own castle now is actually getting a bit rarer.”
An example of a section with basic covenants was 1C White Street, which is on a 1030sqm section and priced at $595,000.
Meanwhile, entry-level properties on freehold sections could sell for between $650,000 and $700,000.
Lawrence said 8 Joan Gaskell Drive, which is priced at $695,000, was a good example of a private two-bedroom property on a freehold site at the lower end of the market.
“It’s an absolute central secret. It’s immaculate,” she said. “You could just turn up. Put your food in the fridge because it’s being sold fully furnished, put your clothes in the wardrobe, and you could literally get on with life.”
- Click here to find more properties for sale in Thames Coromandel
