Sliver fetches $400k

The pint-sized waterfront section was formerly held by the council as a paper road.

A quick kayak trip across the river will take new owners to the local pub.

A small section in the once-sleepy town of Riverhead has sold for close to $400,000 - five times over its CV.

The waterfront land had a CV of $60,000 and was formerly held by the council as a paper road, not considered big enough to build on.

At the heated auction for the 369 sq m plot on Kent Tce, 80 bids were placed within 10 minutes. An older couple who plan to build their "forever home" on the 10.8m wide section won the auction.

Bayleys agent Jayne McCall said the slice of land was small but perfectly positioned on the water in the old part of Riverhead.

There were no covenants so a caravan or bach could be built on the site.

"It is right by the river. One of the neighbours takes a kayak and heads over the river to the pub on the other side," McCall said.

Another similar section nearby sold for $400,000 earlier this year.

"It's an incredible price given the size of the section and the difficulty of the build," McCall said. "But a creative architect could design a fantastic place for the size of the section."

The property market was booming in Riverhead, McCall said.

"It is moving ahead massively. The number of new-builds is massive and people are lining up to buy land in old Riverhead because there are no covenants."

"There are great cafes, the pub - which has been done up - there is the Hallertau Brewery, kindies and great schools."

QV National spokeswoman Andrea Rush said the CV for Kent Tce was low because it was valued as a piece of land that could not be built on.

Riverhead was increasing in value at a slightly lower rate than the Auckland. The average price was $846,350, according to qv.co.nz E-Valuer.

Property available in the area has increased 14 per cent over the past year.

"Some quite substantial new builds are being sold as well and sales of new homes tend to push up the value of an area's housing stock," Rush said.

"New builds also only require a 10 per cent deposit so vacant sections in the area will be favourable to first-home buyers looking to build close to the water."

Premium agent Courtney Wood said houses in Riverhead were reaching more than $900,000 and had space, character and river views.

"People are moving here for the lifestyle and because they can buy a house with a huge yard for the kids to play," she said.

She estimated houses were going up $100,000 a year.

In terms of the average sale price above CV, the latest qv.co.nz E-Valuer statistics show over the past three months, properties in Riverhead were selling about 14 per cent above the CV set at July 1 last year.