Coastal properties at Langs Beach and neighbouring Mangawhai Heads continue to attract skyrocketing prices for residential properties in Northland, so much so that even a couple of million dollars may not cut the deal.

One
of the biggest sales was a $5.6m property in Langs Beach, selling in February.

According to OneRoof, the next four highest sale prices in the region for the year to the end of October were for houses sold at Sandhill Heights in Mangawhai ($4.8m), Tern Point in Mangawhai ($4.3m), Pukematu Lane in Russell ($4m) and Hihi Rd in Mangonui ($3.6m).

The lowest sale price in Northland this year was $130,000 for a three-bedroom house on Derrick Rd in Kawakawa. Four other houses in the mid and Far North were sold for under $200,000.

Head of valuations at OneRoof’s data partner Valocity James Wilson said Northland was the most diverse market in terms of the different price points and that was ultimately a good thing.

“If you want the region to be thriving, you need education, housing and jobs and not have a situation where there are more high-end properties because that will mean the domestic buyers will move elsewhere for affordable houses,” he said.

Wilson said post-Covid has seen a significant demand for coastal properties in Northland due to the uniqueness of its landscape, and a relatively affordable high-end stock compared with traditional markets like Queenstown.

Presently, he said a lot more buyers of high-end properties were being far more cautious but first home buyers were really active.

Sales of expensive houses at Langs Beach and Mangawhai Heads also benefited nearby towns such as Waipū and Mangawhai especially during the warmer months, he said.

New owners of those houses operated them like a business by employing locals to maintain and run them, Wilson said.

In the Far North district, Bay of Islands and Kerikeri continue to attract high-end sales and one real estate agent said the trend showed no signs of abating.

“We’re getting more high-end people coming into New Zealand and looking at properties in the Bay of Islands and they like to keep under the radar,” Irene Bremner of Bayleys in the Bay of Islands said.

There were also cashed-up Kiwis, she said, who were splashing out on secondary homes in the bay.

“There are less people, best water, best fishing and they can be themselves in the Bay of Islands which is so under-rated. But it’s also in the outer bays… places like Kerikeri where there are a lot of waterfront areas,” she said.

The highest number of homes sold this year to the end of October was in Kerikeri (301). Kamo came in at second with 278 house sales, Tikipunga was third at 189 and One Tree Point at 173.

Maungakaramea and Otangarei had the least number of houses sold, at 16 each.

In Whangārei, OneRoof figures show five houses attracting the lowest sale price, each selling for under $350,000.

They were on Mackesy Rd in Parahaki ($235,000), Kaurinui Cres on One Tree Point ($257,391), Whangārei Heads Rd ($300,000), View Rd (300,000) and Alfred St both in Hikurangi ($336,500).

The highest 12-month value change was recorded in Tutukaka (11.4 per cent), followed by Kauri (9.7 per cent), Glenbervie (8.3 per cent), Otangarei (7.4 per cent) and Waipu (6.3 per cent).

In terms of the highest five-year value change, Otangarei topped the list at 93.4 per cent and the next best four were Kauri (82.8 per cent), Hikurangi (82.3 per cent), Raumanga (74.8 per cent) and Ruatangata West (71.3 per cent).

Tutukaka recorded the lowest five-year value change.

The lowest average property values were in Otangarei, Raumanga, Avenues, Morningside and Woodhill.

The lowest price paid for a residential property in Whangārei this year was for a 90s two-storey townhouse with harbour views on Mackesy Rd in Parahaki. The three-bedroom cross-lease title townhouse was sold by Barfoot and Thompson at auction for $235,000 in September.

Due to the July 2020 floods in Whangārei, the house has had minor damage and the land required extensive work.

Barfoot and Thompson said the property has been the subject of an Earthquake Commission claim due to a landslip.

Northland’s housing market this year at a glance:

* One of the most expensive sales was for $5.6m at Langs Beach in February

* Cheapest was $130,000 in Kawakawa

* Highest number of houses sold was 301 in Kerikeri

* Highest average property value— $2.2m at Langs Beach