KEY POINTS:
Real estate agent Amanda Wynne shakes her head in wonder when asked about the demand for property in Matakana, an hour's drive north of Auckland.
"People say to me 'I want to buy property in Matakana'. Then, in the same breath, they say - 'How do I get
there?'
"It's bizarre," she says. "But it's great."
Wynne has been selling real estate in Matakana for Harveys for more than four years.
She has seen sections in the tiny village (pop 324) almost treble in price - up from $140,000 to $400,000 - and says demand is now far outstripping supply.
Five years ago Jeneen Binsted, from Harcourts, started selling original 60s cottages on sections just outside Matakana.
"They were selling for around $300,000," she says. "Last year we sold one for $1.1 million. Everyone said that was a ridiculous amount of money... and now it's been achieved."
The demand is being driven by outside pressure - mostly from Aucklanders - who have decided to buy into the Matakana phenomenon, the ultimate lifestyle dream.
The reputation of Matakana has been building for years, mostly on the back of a boom in wine-growing. A wine trail of more than 15 vineyards, spread around the hillsides and valleys between Warkworth and Leigh, has been grouped under the Matakana brand name.
But it is the launch two years ago of the Matakana Farmers Market which has sent the desirability factor into orbit.
The traffic jams start at 8am every Saturday morning, stretching out from both ends of the village as between 3000 and 5000 people park their SUVs and savour the rural lifestyle for a few hours before returning to Auckland laden with organic garlic, ostrich terrine and fresh berry sorbets.
It is little short of a phenomenon. As is the physical transformation which has taken place in the village over the past 18 months with the construction of a three-screen cinema, a boutique wine restaurant, 30 chic shops, courtyard and riverside walk. It used to be said if you blinked on the way to Omaha or Leigh you would miss Matakana. Now, if you turn your back for a moment, another building goes up.
The man behind it all is entrepreneur and owner of Brick Bay Wines, Richard Didsbury. He has spent "in excess of $10 million" transforming Matakana - but even he sounds slightly taken aback by its level of popularity.
"It's almost too successful," says Didsbury. "There are almost too many people on the weekends. We had no idea how successful it would be - even in the winter."
Rodney District is the second fastest growing area in the country (behind Queenstown).
The median house price in August was $501,000, considerably higher than Auckland. Amanda Wynne says the highest price paid for a family house in Matakana has been $1.4 million.
She says the need now is for more land to be opened up for development.
Most of the thousands who descend on Matakana at the weekends return to Auckland. But more and more, like Piece art gallery owner, Emma Haughton, choose to stay on. She moved to the area four years ago to give herself and her son a better lifestyle.
"I got talking to Richard Didsbury. I was looking for a business opportunity to keep me in the area."
She says feedback on her business so far has been good and she is relishing her new life in the country. With the cinema, cafes and restaurants springing up all around her she no longer misses Auckland.
Growth is affecting the whole community. The local school's roll has risen from 150 to 400 in 10 years and principal Neville Johnson predicts it will climb to 550 in five years.
He says rising property prices have led to a demographic change in the community.
"It has priced some people out of the area. Entry level is now $450,000 and that's too much for many young families."
Local councillor Penny Webster admits there is a "conflict" over the pace of development, but she is confident it is being done in the right way. "We need to learn from the mistakes of the past in other areas. There are not going to be supermarkets here. It is village shopping. We shouldn't stifle development."
