Property values rocket in Rodney

By WAYNE THOMPSON


Beach home and section values in Rodney have risen by as much as 76 per cent in three years - spurred on by the prospect of quicker trips to Auckland.

The promise of a start on the motorway extension between Orewa and Puhoi helped strong growth in the values of properties in the bays north of Warkworth.

Mathesons Bay, Whangateau and Leigh were stars of three-yearly valuations Quotable Value has just done for Rodney District Council for rating purposes.

Kawau Island and the small Hibiscus Coast settlements of Hatfields Beach and Tindalls Bay also had larger than average value rises.

A snapshot of the market on September 1 showed an overall rise of 59 per cent in the capital value of homes across Rodney district, said Quotable Value Auckland manager Melanie Gallagher.

The overall rise in land value was 77 per cent.

Ms Gallagher said the strongest increases occurred last year.

By comparison, the revaluation of Waitakere City over the same period showed an overall rise of 48.2 per cent in the capital value of homes and a 65 per cent rise in land value.

The prospect of the bach-to-city trip being cut by 15 minutes was not the only reason for soaring values of north Rodney beach properties, said Harveys Broadbents Warkworth real estate agents.

Marie-Dominique Lennan said buyers were competing for a small number of properties that came on to the market.

She said that properties which sold for $250,000 to $350,000 three years ago could now confidently be expected to fetch $400,000, without offering a sea view.

An older waterfront home which sold for $435,000 two and a half years ago had recently changed hands for three times that price.

A Leigh three-bedroom house, without seaviews, had risen from $235,000 to $380,000 in less than three years.

Michael Dow said Omaha Beach values continued to grow steadily.

Three years ago, the top price paid for a beachfront property was $1.5 million but that home would now fetch $2.35 million.

A two-bedroom home, with no sea view, was bought a year ago for $280,000 and had resold for $480,000.

Kawau Island-based real estate agent John Pryor explained the rises as demand exceeding supply.

He said the island had only 413 properties and owners tended to hang on to them to enjoy rather than invest for capital gain.

Buyers were now seeking holiday homes instead of somewhere to live on the island, which had no roads or usual services.

Cheaper properties had soared in value, said Mr Pryor.

A section that was 10 minutes' walk from the sea would have cost $50,000 three years ago but now would be $190,000.

On the Whangaparaoa Peninsula, agent Jeremy Milton said a new beachfront record had been set at Manly with a $3.4 million house sale.

The house site was sold for $700,000 eight years ago.

Agents said Hatfields Beach prices were only catching up with those for Orewa Beach properties just over the hill.

A surprise in the district revaluation was a 72 per cent rise for Parakai, near Helensville.

Soaring values

Three-yearly revaluations found:

Mathesons Bay, Whangateau, Leigh, Kawau Island up 76 per cent.

Tindalls Bay, 75 per cent.

Parakai, 72 per cent.

Hatfields Beach, 70 per cent.

On average, the capital value of Rodney homes rose 59 per cent and land value 77 per cent.

Ratepayers (41,595 of them) will get individual assessments from Wednesday next week.