- A one-bedroom beach unit in Whangamatā is expected to break price records at auction next month.
- Owners Gary and Amanda Millar have reduced their price expectations by over $100,000.
- The unit, initially bought for $230,000 in 2018, could be the town’s cheapest since 2022.
A one-bedroom beach unit is tipped to break Whangamatā price records when it hits the auction floor next month.
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But a $5 million-plus payday isn’t on the cards for the owners of 5/106 Barbara Avenue.
Retirees Gary and Amanda Millar have been trying to sell their bach in the wealthy Coromandel town for the last three years, but without much luck, so they are resorting to headline-grabbing measures.
They have slashed their price expectations by more than $100,000 and told their agent they are willing to take less than the property’s RV of $460,000.
Bayleys listing agents Dale Sholson and Gordon McGregor believe the beach unit could be the town’s cheapest since 2022.
“If you want a very affordable holiday home in Whangamatā, this would have to be the place to start,” Sholson told OneRoof.
The unit had an extensive makeover after the couple bought it in 2018. Photo / Supplied
The couple used it as their bach before deciding to relocate to the beach town permanently. Photo / Supplied
“[The vendors] are literally just telling us to get it sold.”
The Millars bought the unit in the Paradise Coast Apartment complex for $230,000 in 2018 after making a profit on another property.
The couple were living on a lifestyle property in Ōhaupō and knew that with a bit of TLC, the unit would be the perfect lock-and-leave beach retreat.
Amanda told OneRoof that the property was originally part of a motel block and hadn’t been touched since the 1970s.
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“It had the textured ceilings, the carpet was green with pink and purple flecks in it, it was all sorts of colours, horrible lino – just awful.”
The Millars installed a new shower, painted it inside and out, laid new flooring, hung new curtains and built a deck out front.
The pair are desperate to sell because they have already bought their dream home, a townhouse by the beach (a journey that was documented on the TVNZ property show Find My Country House New Zealand with host Matt Gibbs).
Amanda said it was now time to meet the market and sell the unit, which is why they were taking it to auction. “We don’t want people to be scared off thinking, ‘Oh it’s not worth $460,000’ because that’s [the RV from] July 2023 and the prices have come down since then.”
There are 10 units plus a house in the complex and most are used as holiday homes by their owners from Tauranga, Waihī and Hamilton.
Sholson said the Barbara Avenue unit would suit someone either looking for an investment property or an entry-level holiday home.
There are only three other properties (excluding sections or homes in retirement villages) listed for sale in Whangamatā under $500,000. An upstairs unit in the Paradise Coast complex is priced at $415,000, while two two-bedroom units in the Palms Pacific Resort are listed for $439,000 and $449,000, respectively.
- 5/106 Barbara Avenue, in Whangamatā, goes to auction on April 9
