The majority of residential building consents were issued in Mount Maunganui/Pāpāmoa. Photo / File
Tauranga's population is growing, some areas more than others. And more people means more houses. Property reporter Zoe Hunter talks to local real estate agents about what 76 new residential builds approved by the Tauranga City Council last month will mean for the city's property market.
Tauranga City Council has approved $32.4 million worth of residential consents for 76 new homes in a month.
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• Total $58m issued in Tauranga building consents
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• Value of Tauranga consents this year up 22 per cent on 2017
Tauranga real estate experts say new residential builds helped to keep up with the demand for property as more people moved to the area. But some feared the city was running out of land to build on.
Tauranga City Council's latest building consents report showed $17.9m worth of residential consents were issued for 44 new builds in Mount Maunganui/Pāpāmoa last month.
A total of $10.5m was approved for 22 new builds in Ōtūmoetai/Bethlehem and $3.8m for 10 new builds in Te Papa/Welcome Bay.
That included $2m for a two-storey dwelling with four bedrooms, a lift and attached four-car garage on Harbour Dr in Ōtūmoetai.
Heath Young, chief operating officer of Realty Group, which operates Eves and Bayleys, said 76 new dwellings was a good level of supply to help meet the demand as more people move to the region.
"If new homes are not being built in growing regions then it puts too much un-sustainable pressure on existing housing in terms of pricing and turns people away from coming to the region."
Young said the number of consents issued was largely driven by the huge growth and expansion of Pāpāmoa east as well as more multi-unit dwellings in Mount Maunganui.
Most $1m residential consents were for waterfront rebuilds and redevelopments or properties with views, Young said.
"Many properties along Marine Parade and Oceanbeach Rd in Mount Maunganui have been through recent re-builds as the dwellings they are replacing are near the end of their 50-year lives," he said.
The developers' ability to keep pace with demand and build a mixture of housing that appealed to a wide audience was what Young said was driving the number of consents.
"It has been signalled that more land needs to be released to cope with the influx and demand on the region as more and more people seek out the destination as a viable place to live," he said.
Tauranga Harcourts managing director Simon Martin said more new residential builds were needed to keep supply and demand in balance.
"There are more people coming to town so we need to keep up the supply," he said.
Martin said it was not uncommon for consents valued at more than $1m to be issued in areas such as Ōtūmoetai where there properties with waterfront views.
"In established areas like Ōtūmoetai, it is not as common. But properties of that value are certainly popping up in the market."
General manager of Tremains Bay of Plenty and Waikato, Anton Jones, said land availability in Mount Maunganui/Pāpāmoa could be why more building consents were issued in the area.
"Tauranga is drying up a bit. There are not as many sections, which is a bit of a concern going forward that the development land isn't available," he said.
Jones said it was not unusual for people to spend upwards of $1m on a building consent for their dream home and Ōtūmoetai was a popular place to build.
"It has got views over the water towards the Mount. It is pretty hard to beat," he said.
520 Gloucester Rd
Stage 1 of a 2 stage consent. Single level pre cast and steel frame building. Nine units within for separate tenancy. This consent 1 is for the scope of 1. Civil and 2. Structural engineering, only. $1,516,000
15 Macrae Ave
Construction of a new concrete plant at Mount Maunganui. The plant and its associated structures will be built on foundations already consented by others. $4,650,000
15 Otira Close
Construct new two-storey, four-bedroom dwelling with attached triple garage and swimming pool. $1,200,000
7 Gravatt Rd
New 1060 sqm office development. $3,000,000
242 Grenada St
Five new villas as two attached duplexes and one separate dwelling - single-level, two-bedroom with attached single $1,392,000
106 Harbour Dr
New two-storey dwelling with four bedrooms, a lift and attached four-car garage.
$2,000,000
149 Taurikura Dr
Extension to an existing warehouse and exterior canopy.
$1,400,000
77 Fourth Ave
Four-storey apartment block with 55 units and basement car parking (five storeys in total) $13,000,000
Source: Tauranga City Council