Waikato land block offers multiple options

The property for sale at 19 Kaikahu Rd North, Kerepehi, is indicated by a red border. Photo / Supplied

A 27.7ha Waikato grazing block near Ngatea, just south of Thames, could become a run-off farming unit, a lifestyle block or it might be land banked for possible future residential subdivision.

The deceased estate property, at 19 Kaikahu Rd North, is divided into seven titles — two zoned Residential and one Partially Residential.

Situated in an elevated position on the northern edge of Kerepehi township, in recent years the land has been leased to a local farmer for grazing and making silage.

Featured in Bayleys' latest Total Property portfolio magazine, the property is being marketed by Karl Davis and Josh Smith of Bayleys Hamilton through a tender process, closing at 3pm on April 11.

Davis says about 1.7ha across the titles is now zoned Residential, so this land could be subdivided down to 450sq m sections in future.

The Waikato Regional Council District Plan states that for every two at 450sq sections there must be a 700sq m section. So, while it is theoretically possible to sub-divide as many as 25 sections off the portion of property now zoned Residential; purchasers will need to do their own due diligence on this, he says.

The property is established as a grazing block, and as a whole it could run about eighty, one-to-two year old cattle.

Elevated above the majority of the Hauraki Plains, the land is flat-to-easy loam over clay and this year it is expected that 670 bales of silage and hay will come off the land. "For anyone looking at the land bank option this will be a great source of income," Davis says.

Infrastructure includes a tidy 140sq m three-bedroom brick house, hay barn, stock yards and a stand-off pad off Kaikahu Rd North.

The property has four access points, including State Highway 2, Kaikahu Rd North, Rimu St North and McGowan Ave.

It is adjacent to Industrially-zoned land and townships of Kerepehi, Ngatea, Kopu and Paeroa are within about 18km. Distances to Auckland, Hamilton and Tauranga are 108km, 83km and 98km respectively.

"That means a large percentage of New Zealand's population will be within an hour of this location," Davis says. "This is one of the reasons the Hauraki District Council has chosen Kerepehi as the industrial hub for the district.

"With recent acquisitions and improvements to key infrastructure within the township, the council has safeguarded the capacity for further growth and has continued to be supportive of such activities. Recent industrial developments are providing a large number of jobs and could easily see the demand for housing in Kerepehi increase as more businesses relocate - making this block of land a prime opportunity for the astute buyer," he says.

In 2017, the estate's executors asked the Hauraki District Council to consider including rezoning the entire block into a mix of Industrial and Residential as part of its planning process at the time, Smith says.

"The council declined but has identified the land as part of its medium to long-term growth strategy for residential development," he says.

"It could be acquired by a new owner and land-banked as a long-term holding plan.

"Another use is converting the block into a lifestyle property. The healthy performance of the lifestyle sector is mainly off the back of people moving out of Auckland's residential market and by retiring/downsizing farmers wanting to retain some connection with a block of land close to rural centres," Smith says.

Farming is central to Kerepehi and the Hauraki Plains economy, he says.

"Economically, dairy farming is the leading primary industry, supported by other grassland farming. It provides the most income for the region with the size of dairy farms ranging from about 100 cows to upwards of 500, with 66 per cent of the total land area of the Hauraki Plains is used by cows and milking facilities," he says.