Seaside dream is in reach

The Kiwi bach is affordable again. Eighty minutes north of Auckland, Mangawhai offers an amazing beach and harbour, plus the chance to buy land for $80,000 that is "either a 10-minute walk or two-minute drive to the beach, put a little bach on and be in with all your services for $250,000", says Bayley's Mark Macky.

As coastal property prices soared in the boom, the Kiwi bach dream seemed out of reach. But the bubble burst and section prices have tanked in favourite holiday spots, particularly where mortgagee sales are involved.

The property sector that has felt most pain is bare coastal land that is not right beside the sea. For land five minutes' drive from the beach where there are no views, prices have fallen 40 per cent, says Macky - "and that's if you can find a buyer".

Mangawhai tops the list for section oversupply, as well as Far North areas, including Mangonui, Coopers Beach, Cable Bay and the Karikari Peninsula.

Macky says loose council development protocols fuelled a huge amount of speculative development in Mangawhai, and the boom saw much speculative buying - where investors paid $5000 deposits before a development had resource consent.

To read the full NZ Herald article, click here

Posted: 11 Oct 2009

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