Buyers pull over-nighter to nab new sections

Nigel Byrne says he was "more than happy" to wait in his car overnight to secure a section if it meant avoiding the auction process. Photo / Andrew Warner

Demand for sections is so strong in Papamoa that buyers are queuing overnight for public land launches.

Buyer Nigel Byrne arrived at a sales pavilion on Friday afternoon, ready to sleep the night in his car to secure one of five sections through a public release. He had magazines, books and an iPad full of movies to see him through the night.

Byrne and his wife and child have been living in a Mt Maunganui townhouse but want a bigger property.

"Anything good in Tauranga is too expensive or gets bought up too quickly.

"Sleeping in my car is a walk in the park compared to what people did last month."

In January five house-hunters camped unexpectedly outside the sales pavilion, but this public release found Frasers Property ready, said development manager Kranish Reddy.

"This time we were prepared. We have a carpark queue, where buyers have a cone with a number and they stay in their car overnight."

Facilities inside the pavilion were made available to those staking out and a security guard was hired.

Reddy said the five sections up for grabs were premium sections, starting at $324,000, up to $414,000 and between 455sq m to 727sq m.

However the sections would only be ready to be built on in January 2017.

The long wait paid off for Mr Byrne who was very happy to be able to put one of the sections under contract on Saturday morning.

"Going to auction you get outbid very quickly so I was more than happy to queue overnight," he said.

Three of the five sections made available are under contract. 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".