For Ross Stanway, there is nowhere he would rather live than on the beachfront at Mount Maunganui.
"It's always been a dream to live on the beach," says the 64-year-old, who is chief executive of the real estate firms Bayleys and Eves in the Bay of Plenty and Waikato.
"My family connections are closely involved with the sea," Mr Stanway said.
"My grandfather was a sailor and I spent a lot of time with him as a child. The sea and his stories of the sea and his experiences gave me a love of the sea."
Mr Stanway lives in a four-bedroom house on the Mount's Oceanbeach Road, where nothing separates his home from the ocean except dunes and sand.
"It's taken about 40 years for my wife and I to achieve that dream, but we just love it."
He said that in the past New Zealanders appreciated waterfront property, whether living by the beach, at a family bach, or camping.
"We took it for granted. It was part of New Zealand culture in that it was just there for us, but in more recent times, it's been appreciated for what it is in terms of world standards and a lot of people want it.
"Without doubt, the appeal of the beach is still growing."
This week, the Bay of Plenty Times Weekend set out to find whether people's love affair with waterfront property is continuing.
Real estate agents say the answer is a resounding "yes" and that waterfront properties in the Tauranga region are holding their values.
"Beachfront properties may not have had the percentage increase of some other suburbs but the prices have remained level for the last couple of years," said Mr Stanway.
"Buyers have realised that's the case and there's still some very, very good value along Marine Parade and Oceanbeach Rd and Papamoa Beach Rd."
Asked if the quieter part of Tauranga's coastline was seen as increasingly appealing, Mr Stanway says: "It's different strokes for different folks. Karewa Parade is away from the hustle and bustle of the Mount, but people who live on Marine Parade like to be part of that. In many instances, they do like the vibrancy.
"Each part of the beach has a different appeal. It's a long beach from the Mount to Oceanbeach and Papamoa."
Just as in other sectors of Tauranga real estate, it is Aucklanders who are fuelling growth in waterfront property sales.
Mr Stanway said the level of inquiry from the country's biggest city is increasing as infrastructure in Tauranga improves and Auckland becomes increasingly difficult to negotiate due to traffic woes and soaring property prices.
"In the last couple of years, we've been getting inquiries from people in Auckland who no longer need or want to live in Auckland who can turn their Auckland property into significant amounts of money and still get a good beachfront property down here and have money left over."
A search of Realestate.co.nz reveals nine waterfront properties in Tauranga with asking prices of $2.5 million or more, and agents say it is difficult to find a property on the coastline for under $1million. The highest-value waterfront property is the Mount's 92 Marine Parade, which is listed for negotiation and boasts a capital value of $7 million.
Mr Stanway said high prices for waterfront property tend to be driven by two factors, location and house style and construction type.
Even the cheapest beachfront property in Tauranga is likely to command more than $1 million and would likely have watertight issues that would require further expenditure, he said.
"If it was in a prime position with a house in a bad state of repair, obviously the land value is what would dictate the selling price."
Properties with views of the water, though not on the beachfront or harbour, also command high prices.
BAYLEYS real estate agent Kay Ganley, who is agent for several of the highest-priced properties on the Mount/Papamoa beachfront, said more buyers were wanting waterfront property and demand was outstripping supply.
"They are not making any more beachfront and waterfront," she said.
"Our beachfront and waterfront properties represent such fantastic value compared to other parts of the world and also to Auckland.
"Some of these properties in Auckland would be twice the price."
Her buyers are varied: "I have sold beachfront to young family locals upgrading who have always aspired to bring their kids up living on the beach, buyers moving over from Tauranga to live on the beach, and many out-of-town buyers."
Since 2012, she said, beachfront and waterfront sales have increased.
"There is something magical waking up to the sun rising over the water and equally watching it set over the water."
Harcourts Tauranga managing director Simon Martin agrees that interest in local waterfront property is far from waning, adding there has been an increase in sales and values remain steady.
He said it was still possible to get a property on the harbour for under $1 million, but agrees it would be difficult on the coastline.
According to Realestate.co.nz, the highest-listed price for a waterfront property in Tauranga at the moment is $3.5 million for 209 Papamoa Beach Road.
Eves agent Danielle Hayes, who is marketing the five-bedroom home, says it sits on a large 2140 sq m site next to a reserve with unrestricted 180-degree views of the ocean from Mauao to Maketu that cannot be built out.
Another waterfront property attracting attention from potential out-of-town buyers is the central city's 186 Devonport Rd.
It features a four-bedroom 1930s home on a 2226 sq m (half-acre) section with riparian rights, guaranteeing exclusive access to the harbour frontage.
Although it has a relatively low capital value of $1.58 million, Bayleys agent Ray Lees says the size and location of the site, the house and garden, and the riparian rights make it an extremely valuable property.
"There's nothing else quite comparable to it.
"It could set a record."
Ray White is asking for offers of more than $2.5 million on a First Avenue apartment with a swimming pool and harbour access down a staircase from the property.