Buyers snap up Kiwi gems

Midge Marsden has sold his Raglan holiday home. Photo / Michelle Hyslop

Doctor spends $725,000 on beachfront shack while musician sells off holiday home

A tiny untouched beach shack surrounded by million-dollar mansions at an east coast beach has been snapped up by an Auckland doctor who plans to keep it just as it is.

And another Kiwi classic - musician Midge Marsden - has sold his beach house in Raglan.

The buyer of the east coast bach wants the quintessential Kiwi bach experience when he heads to the 70sq m 1920s weatherboard at Wainui Beach, about 10 minutes from Gisborne.

The little Wainui Beach shack.

The two-bedroom "almost original" house on a 1528sq m section on Wairere Rd was on the market for the first time in 60 years and sold for $725,000 to an Auckland surgeon who was born and raised in Gisborne.

The Herald reported in December that the home was expected to be knocked down to make way for a renovation similar to those around it.

It is wedged beside a 410sq m Mediterranean-style home on a 2023sq m section with four double bedrooms, three bathrooms, a swimming pool and a valuation of $1.46 million.

The shack was owned by former World War II bomber pilot Jock McLernon, who died three years ago.

Mr McLernon never married or had children, and his 10 nephews and nieces were beneficiaries.

Bayleys real estate agent Greg Robertson said he had had "a huge number of inquiries" from around the country for the house, which sold for $90,000 less than its $815,000 valuation.

Meanwhile, Midge Marsden has sold his three-bedroom Raglan holiday home for $642,500. The valuation, set in 2011, was $575,000.

LJ Hooker real estate agent Kyle Leuthart said about 30 people turned up to the auction at the weekend and there were a "handful" of bidders.

The property was bought by a local businessman who might rent it out as a holiday home.