Development continues to boom in seaside Papamoa

Golden Sands has sold 918 residential sections, including sites at Freedom Villages, since 2013 and was five years ahead of projections.

Developers in Papamoa say 2016 "is off to a flying start" with some subdivision stages being sold that will not have titles until next year.

Demand for sections was also so strong that Coast Papamoa Beach had people queuing overnight for its first two public land launches, while Venture Developments subdivision at Reynolds Place had sold out within a month.

Golden Sands sales and marketing manager Mark Day said the "year is off to a flying start with inquiry for sales this year".

"We are selling stages that will not have titles until 2017 at the moment," he said.

Golden Sands had sold 918 residential sections, including sites at Freedom Villages, since 2013 and was five years ahead of projections, he said.

The average house and land package was $560,000 to $630,000 compared with $500,000 to $580,000 just 18 months ago.

Golden Sands chief executive Bill Miller said the Excelsa Medical Centre and Henry & Ted Cafe officially opened earlier this month and, following outstanding feedback from the community, plans were afoot to develop its stage two retail neighbourhood centre on Golden Sands Drive.

"We are doing conceptual work at present and think we will be two to three years away from having that area completed," Mr Miller said.

Venture Developments director Mark Fraser-Jones said its January sales had doubled compared with January 2014.

Civil work on its subdivision in Reynolds Place was expected to start this week with titles expected around August, he said. "Demand was incredibly strong with clients of all demographics looking to take advantage of sections that are not only well priced but close to all the amenities Papamoa has to offer. The subdivision sold out within a month."

Record low interest rates, high immigration and high migration from Auckland, coupled with Papamoa's reputation as a desirable place to live, stood it in good stead for the future, he said.

Fraser Property development manager Kranish Reddy said its Coast Papamoa Beach subdivision had not only attracted local and national interest but also overseas inquiries from Australia, the United Kingdom, Austria and Dubai.

Last month, at its first public launch, people queued up overnight to vie for 15 sections, nine sold to local buyers on the day and four to Auckland buyers - with two still available.

Due to unprecedented demand, a second public launch of five exclusive sections, 650m from the beachfront, was brought forward to Saturday morning prompting people to queue overnight on Friday.

Mr Reddy said confidence in Papamoa, "is visibly high and great to see".

Palm Springs marketing and sales manager James Garratt said all indicators suggested 2016 was going to maintain a strong growth curve off the back of 2015.

It had a new stage pending due to a high volume of registered interest, he said

Tauranga mayor Stuart Crosby said the city had two high-growth areas - Papamoa and Pyes Pa.

"We have had a strong relationship with the development community for five years, so we understand their timeframe requirements and they understand the issues we face delivering infrastructure."

The pressure was on everybody, Mr Crosby said, but "it is a healthy pressure".