- Beachfront homes in Whitianga are significantly cheaper than those in Whangamatā and Pauanui.
- A renovated home at 115 Buffalo Beach Road is expected to sell for over $3m.
- Agents attribute lower prices to Whitianga’s development potential and longer distance from major cities.
Stunning beachfront properties in Coromandel’s largest town can be picked up for around half the price of what they would fetch in neighbouring hotspots – something that remains somewhat of a mystery for some agents selling there.
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An absolute beachfront home at 115 Buffalo Beach Road, in Whitianga, is expected to sell for over $3 million after undergoing a $550,000-plus makeover. Other large properties on the same street have been known to command around $4m – well below the $6m to $8m price tags attached to similar beachfront homes in Whangamatā and Pauanui.
Last year, a vintage four-bedroom beachfront home on a 1712sqm section on Beverley Terrace, in Whangamatā, sold for a record-breaking $8.5m, trumping the $7.85m record set in August 2024 by an architecturally-designed house on the same street. Meanwhile, properties in Pauanui are slightly more affordable, with some of the town’s best beachfront homes nabbing $6m-plus.
Richardsons agent Abby Lawrence didn’t have a good answer as to why Whitianga’s beachfront was cheaper, especially when the town had more infrastructure and amenities, including two supermarkets, The Warehouse, several fine dining restaurants and a cinema.
More than $550,000 has been spent on renovating 115 Buffalo Beach Road. Photo / Supplied
The five-bedroom, three-bathroom home boasts a new kitchen and bathrooms. Photo / Supplied
“It’s crazy how much more affordable our beachfront is, considering we are the biggest centre,” she told OneRoof.
Lawrence said people who viewed the five-bedroom, three-bathroom property at 115 Buffalo Beach Road couldn’t believe how much bang for their buck they could get in Whitianga.
The vendors had carried out an impressive $550,000-plus renovation and are set to cover the construction costs of a new seawall outside the home.
“We’ve had a number of people through the house that have looked at the comparable properties in Hahei, Cooks Beach and around the place – and they constantly say, ‘Well, why is Whitianga more affordable?’. Considering we have the bigger centre, we have all of the services, the infrastructure, but it’s just that our beachfront is far more affordable than the other areas.”
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Lawrence said there were about a dozen properties, including 115 Buffalo Beach Road, that were absolute waterfront in the town. “There’s a very, very small enclave of houses, and they are very tightly held.” There have only been two sales of absolute beachfront properties in the past five years.
She said one of the reasons prices could be more affordable was the amount of land around Whitianga that could be developed. Another reason was that it was a slightly longer drive from Auckland and Hamilton.
Bayleys Coromandel general manager Shaun Paterson agreed Whitianga offered better buying for those wanting a waterfront property in the Coromandel and didn’t mind travelling a bit further for it.
“The reality is Whangamatā is an hour closer to Hamilton, an hour closer to Tauranga and probably 45 minutes closer to Auckland. So Whangamatā does have some advantages that won’t disappear in terms of that high-end holiday market. Pauanui is arguably a little bit closer as well. The flipside to that is Whitianga has all of its own infrastructure, and there’s a lot more amenities on offer.”
Paterson said that the newly consented seawall in front of the town’s beachfront properties would go a long way to address growing concerns around coastal erosion and give more confidence.
Beachfront properties start at around $1m for an older bach to the high $4ms for substantial homes on larger sections.
A five-bedroom, five-bathroom home directly across from the beach at 182 Buffalo Beach Road has a current asking price of $4.399m – a recent price drop from $4.8m and, according to Paterson, is one of the largest homes in Whitianga with some of the best views.
One of Whitianga's largest homes with expansive sea views at 182 Buffalo Beach Road was originally asking $4.8m. Its current asking price is $4.399m. Photo / Supplied
A 1930s do-up home at 96 Albert Street overlooking Whitianga's harbour is for sale for the first time in almost 100 years. Photo / Supplied
Meanwhile, a do-up property on the estuary at 96 Albert Street could be picked up for $1.85m. The three-bedroom home had been owned by the same family since it was built almost 100 years ago.
“That property is phenomenal value at that. It’s a completely unmatched, unique site – it’s like standing on an island when you are there.”
Paterson said some of the Coromandel’s other northern beaches, such as Wharekaho (Simpsons Beach) and Ōpito Bay, also offered good value for money, pointing to a two-bedroom bach at 4 Ōpito Bay Road with a price tag of $1.75m.
However, not everyone wanted beachfront homes, with the agent noting that boaties often favoured the properties on the canals in Whitianga Waterways.
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