Sales in Mount Maunganui are lower than usual but an award-winning home set back from the beach recently fetched $3 million at auction, just over its $2.97m RV.
Buyers from Pukekohe, on Auckland’s southern fringe, bought the house on Hart Street – a three-level home within easy walking distance of the sand, says listing agent Peter Clarke from Bayleys.
The house was sold under the hammer to the sole bidders on the day.
Advertised as luxurious and “built like a fortress”, the house picked up the gold award and category award in the Master Builders House of the Year competition in 2007, he says.
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While there was just one cash buyer, there were two conditional buyers waiting in the wings hoping the property would not sell at auction but the cash buyer took control and secured the home, which last sold in 2020 for $2.15m.
Almost certainly this time last year there would have been more bidders, Clarke says, but while there is no doubt activity has slowed the situation is improving at the Mount, a sought-after beach location in Tauranga.
“We had a reasonable clearance in our last month, about 60% of our auctions cleared, which is pretty good, and in the last week out of four different venues our auctioneers sold five out of seven under the hammer, so pretty good.
“The numbers are down a bit but the clearance is still at 60% which is not to be sneezed at.”
Clarke says sales volumes in June were around 18 but the number rose to around 25 in July reflecting increasing interest, especially for good quality properties, although usually for this time of the year sales would be in the mid-30s to 40 a month.
“Not everyone is as confident in buying but we're still getting some deals done.”
The Hart Street property included two-bedroom guest accommodation downstairs and a sumptuous master bedroom suite with a private deck.
The main living is on the top floor where there’s a gourmet kitchen, a view of Mauao (the iconic dormant volcano) and peeks of the ocean.
The high specifications also attracted the new owners who are leaving Pukekohe to live in the Mount.
The luxurious Hart Street home has views of Mauao and the ocean. Photo / Supplied
Clarke says plenty of people are out looking at the Mount with good attendance at open homes over the weekend including would-be buyers from Rotorua and people from the Waikato.
People love the Mount because it has one of the best beaches in the world, Clarke says.
“I was just talking to my 14-year-old son about it at the weekend and he said ‘this is just such a great place to live’.
“You know, you've got the beach on one side, you've got a lovely harbour on the other side with a mountain in between that you can walk up all around and enjoy and then you've got a nice vibe in the little village.”
The Mount is always interesting with all the cafes, restaurants and shopping, he says.
“The place doesn't go to sleep anymore. It's rocking and rolling year round. It’s driven by a lot of people from the Waikato.
“There’s a huge amount of ownership of holiday homes over here from a Waikato farming background, but we've also got some Kiwifruit people that have baches here from Te Puke and the greater Bay of Plenty area as well as people from Auckland and Rotorua.”
The biggest market, though, is still locals who are either moving up, sideways or downgrading, Clarke says.
Harcourts Tauranga managing director Simon Martin says the wider Tauranga market is quieter than usual.
“The volume of sales generally across the board in the Mount, Papamoa, Tauranga are a lot lower than what it has been in the past.
“It’s a hard one to go back and compare to because we know it’s lower than what it should be but when you compare to say the same month two years ago there was hardly any sales because we were in lockdown.”
However, the spring weather over the weekend enticed plenty of people out to open homes so the signs are encouraging, he says.
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