Finding that hidden gem of a holiday home is still possible if you’re willing to think outside the square or travel a bit further.
As summer takes hold and people dream of owning their own bach, Jane Phare goes searching for affordable quintessential Kiwi holiday spots.
Forget Ōmaha and Whangamatā beachfront, Waiheke, Hāhei, Queenstown or the lakefront at Taupō. They’re for the well-heeled - think seven figures and counting – or Kiwis lucky enough to have parents who bought holiday homes years ago when beachfront properties cost in the thousands, not millions, of dollars.
However, finding that hidden gem is still possible if you’re willing to think outside the square or travel a bit further. The bach might be a bit rumpty, there probably won’t be a string of restaurants and a Bunnings nearby but they’re places where precious family memories will be made regardless.
We went shopping with a budget of anywhere between $30,000 and up to $850,000 – from permanent caravan campsites to baches and holiday homes for sale – and found plenty of possibilities.
Further down is a graphic showing a selection of Kiwi beach spots that have an average property price under $850,000 which means some houses will be well below that level. In the South Island a few beachside areas have average property prices in the $300,000 level.
If you plan ahead and don’t mind waiting lists, you could end up with a permanent caravan site or bach at a council-run beachside campsite for under $40,000.
Finding holiday spots within a two-hour drive from central Auckland proved tricky. Popular beaches to the north - Whangaparaoa, Ōrewa, Ōmaha, Mangawhai and Langs Beach - are getting expensive. Entry level at beach coves like Mathesons Bay is more than $1 million these days.
However a little further north towards Bream Bay are the settlements of Ruakaka and One Tree Point where holiday homes are still affordable and the drive from Auckland is under two hours, thanks to the new motorway extension. Both are a 10-minute drive from Marsden Cove marina.
One Tree Point has a sheltered harbour beach and five minutes away is Ruakaka Surf Beach - with a surf lifesaving club - looking out to the Hen and Chicken Islands. Close by is Waipu Cove, another surf beach.
If the rumpty bach needing constant DIY doesn’t appeal, a new subdivsion at Ruakaka called The Dunes is within 500m of the beach. Marketed by Barrett Homes, three-bedroom houses with two-car garages start at $749,000 with more being built early next year.
Another subdivision close by at One Tree Point, again minutes from the harbour beach, is a little pricier. Homes at The Mooring gated community, with views across to Parua Bay and Whangārei Heads, start at $855,000.
Local resident and Barrett Homes' Northland area manager Robert Ward says the sheltered harbour beach at One Tree Point and the surf beach five minutes away at Ruakaka gives people the best of both worlds.
“I surf there every weekend,” Ward says. “It’s a beautiful place.”
Jutting out into the Manukau Harbour is Āwhitu Peninsula, a place Barfoot & Thompson real estate couple Stanley and Barbara Armon grew to love so much they sold their Remuera home and moved there four years ago. They still sell properties in town but after 15 years selling homes and lifestyle properties at Āwhitu they think there’s no better place to live.
They’re so passionate about the area they had a professional video made highlighting Āwhitu’s selling points - a 90-minute drive from Auckland, no shortage of sea views, beaches and boat ramps, and plenty of fish to be caught. (The snapper quota in the Manukau Harbour is 10 compared to seven in the Waitematā.)
Although the prices are steadily rising, it’s still possible to buy a holiday spot for around $700,000 to $800,000 at Āwhitu. A two-bedroom house in Seaview Tce is for sale for $510,000. It isn’t beach front but the property is within easy walking distance, has bush at the back and an all-tide boat ramp nearby.
Several homes along Āwhitu’s elevated Matakawau and Big Bay roads are in the $700,000 to $800,000 bracket, featuring sweeping views of the harbour and large sections with room for tents and backyard cricket.
“Embrace the joy of endless happy holiday memories,” reads an ad for a $795,000 holiday home in Matakawau Rd.
“A short stroll down a garden path leads you to the play park and the pristine beach, with the all-tide boat ramp conveniently located at the end of the street.”
The three-bedroom home has a sleepout with its own deck, a Kent fire, a quarter-acre flat lawn and an outdoor storage room for kayaks and fishing gear.
Earlier this year the Armons sold a two-bedroom holiday home with a sleepout for $700,000, with panoramic views over Big Bay, the Manuka Harbour and across to Auckland Airport, a plane spotters' paradise. For DIY fans, a derelict bach with a jetty is for sale in Big Bay Rd for $499,000.
Properties on Waiheke Island and Great Barrier Island under $800,000 are getting harder to find, with prices pushed up by wealthier buyers wanting a slice of paradise. (So far 65 consents for helipads have been approved on Waiheke Island, and 11 on Great Barrier.)
However, it’s still possible to find bargains on both islands but the baches are unlikely to have sweeping views and ensuite bathrooms.
Kawau and Rakino islands are a better bet, and easier to get to than Great Barrier - if you don’t have a helicopter.
Baches and holiday homes on Rakino are for sale from $450,000, and on Kawau Island independent estate agent Debbie Aldred has a large section of lawn and bush overlooking Schoolhouse Bay, Bon Accord Harbour, for sale for $595,000.
The property comes with a Sterling Eccles Onyx caravan with hot and cold water, a gas fridge, central heating, a flushing toilet and shower. Access is by private boat, or by ferry or water taxi to the Schoolhouse Bay wharf 25m from the property.
In Kawau’s South Cove there’s “a cracker of a house” on a 3252m2 section with sweeping bush views, Aldred says. The owners want offers over $750,000.
The three-bedroom fully furnished home, with extra outside toilets, has established vegetable gardens, a shade house and workshop/garage, and comes with two caravans, a 4WD car and a $60,000 runabout. An all-tide boat ramp and public wharf at nearby South Cove make access easy.
Don’t forget the Hokianga, Mid North Real Estate agent Monika Naera says, arguing the west coast has more to offer than the east coast in terms of value for money.
Property prices in the area are still affordable and it’s the ideal place for a holiday - great swimming beaches, beautiful scenery, a sheltered harbour, good fishing either from the wharves, surfcasting or by boat, bushwalks, and local shops and cafes at Ōmāpere, Ōpononi and Rawene. Naera has several properties for sale in the $600,000 to $700,000 price range.
A 1970s two-bedroom Lockwood with wide Hokianga Harbour views is for sale for $660,000. Bordering a beach reserve, the property is set in landscaped gardens and is a five-minute drive from Ōpononi.
A one-bedroom off-grid cottage set in the bush at Kohukohu is for sale for $295,000. It comes with a gas stove, a wood burner, a generator, fruit trees, two sheds, a picnic table and a gated driveway.
If owning a beach house freehold is beyond the budget, consider a lease-to-occupy site or cabin at a council-run campsite. It means you can leave a caravan permanently on a site or occupy a bach for a relatively small amount of money.
Auckland Council has waiting lists for its three holiday parks at Martins Bay, on the Mahurangi Peninsula, Ōrewa, on the Hibiscus Coast, and Whangateau, near Leigh. Whangateau has around 30 annual sites, and Martins Bay and Ōrewa have around 100 each.
Annual campers can’t live on the sites permanently but can stay 120 nights each year. The council allows caravans, awnings, hard annexes and decking on the sites but not baches or cabins. At Martins Bay the 120 renewable lease sites range from $5500 to $8500 a year depending on the location but the waiting list can be years for beach-front spots.
Tony Sharp, who manages the park with his wife Mady, says leaseholders can use all the campground facilities. An all-tide boat ramp is nearby and campers can pay to store their boats and tractors at the park.
Jared Morrison and his wife Zena have run the Sandspit Holiday Park near Warkworth for the past 19 years, offering a range of permanent caravan sites for sale. Owners can’t live there permanently but can come and go throughout the year, including six consecutive weeks over the summer.
This season the park had six sites for sale which, depending on the condition of the caravan and whether it has a soft and hard awning, and a deck, sell from $12,000 up to $30,000. The most expensive caravan site sold was $52,000, Morrison says, but it had a $42,000 hard awning that was “like a motel unit”.
Leaseholders pay an annual lease of $5200 which allows them the use of the camp’s facilities including a children’s playground, trampolines, a movie room, kayaks and paddle boards.
Morrison says he wants the permanent sites to remain affordable for Kiwi families so sale prices are negotiated through his office to prevent a “bidding war”.
“We negotiate a price before it even goes to market,” he says. “It needs to be a fair price so that any Kiwi family can afford to be able to come and have that environment for their kids.”
The park also has 18 privately owned baches, some dating back to the 1940s and 1950s, but they rarely come up for sale. When they do, they’re priced under $80,000 and existing caravan owners, some who have holidayed at the park for years, are given the first option to buy.
“I have people who turn up here in their fancy cars and go ‘I’d like to buy that bach on the beachfront'.”
But it’s not about the money, Morrison says, it’s about the time caravan owners have spent at the park.
“They’ve got a vested interest in it. They’ve been paying lease fees for decades to us to keep running so we’re not just going to sell it to some Joe Bloggs that walks in because they’ve got the money.”
Raglan on Waikato’s west coast has become increasingly popular, pushing up prices of holiday homes. But nearby Kawhia is more affordable, with baches still available around the $400,000 to $500,00 mark. Those close to the water and with views sell for more than $600,000.
Property Broker agent Paul Wheeler described Kawhia as a “hidden gem”, saying properties selling for several hundred thousand dollars would be more than $1 million on the east coast.
Leasehold baches at Kawhia, on the Waikato’s west coast, are an option for those wanting a holiday getaway without forking out too much upfront. A two-bedroom bach on a large, flat section near the Kawhia Harbour is for sale for $140,000. The perpetually renewing lease, currently $5750 a year, is administered by Te Temu Paeroa (office of the Māori trustee). The lease expires in December 2025 at which time the lease will renew for another 21 years, with seven-yearly rent reviews. Local council and Waikato regional rates are currently $3656 a year.
Another two-bedroom leasehold bach overlooking the Kawhia Harbour is for sale for $309,000. The bach has a spa pool, wide decks and a basement area ideal for storage or as a third bedroom. The current lease is $6500 a year.
Set by the Wainui River is the Herbertville Campground, 68km east of Dannevirke on the east coast. Here 70 shareholders have bought a right to occupy a powered site for a one-off payment of around $40,000. Sites with baches sell for between $60,000 to $80,000, and a two-bedroom home is for sale for $200,000. The area is known for its huge sand dunes, ideal for boogie boarding down on New Year’s Day.
The campground is set by the Wainui River, with the nine-hole Cape Turnagain Golf Club next door, and a five-minute walk to a wide, sandy beach to swim, surf or fish. Shareholders pay $1200 a year, plus power, and can elect to on-sell their sites. It’s remote but the historic Wimbledon Tavern 10km away serves meals and has a beer garden.
For those in the Taranaki region, a fully restored, three-bedroom bach at Urenui Beach Domain sells for around $380,000 (to buy the right to occupy) with around $6000 a year for the lease ($3185) and rates.
The bach is just above the beach and has been fully refurbished including rewiring and new cladding, and comes fully furnished in retro style. Other smaller baches at Urenui domain are for sale for as low as $315,000.
Urenui Beach Domain is one of three sites on iwi-owned land that are managed by the New Plymouth District Council. Baches are also available at Onaero, and Tongapurutu where the cabins are lined up along the Tongapurutu River.
Occupants can’t live there permanently but can stay for eight months of the year, and some leaseholders hire them out on Airbnb to help cover the annual costs.
A few freehold baches are available for less than $700,000 in the Urenui village. Property Brokers estate agent Cindy James says the township is unique because of the combination of mudflats, the river and the sea. She lives at Onaero but is a regular visitor to Urenui.
“It’s the ultimate spot. When you hit the tide right between the Urenui River and the sea it’s only knee deep so it’s super safe because the kids aren’t getting slammed by waves.”
At the remote north Taranaki settlement of Tongapōrutu an iconic foreshore bach is for sale for $150,000, with an annual lease of $2000 administered by the New Plymouth District Council. The two-bedroom Kiwiana bach is fully furnished, close to a boat ramp and a short walk to the towering Two Sisters rock formations. Located on the mouth of the Tongapōrutu River, locals say the area is good for white baiting and fishing.
At Karikari Peninsula in the Far North, a caravan and section is for sale for $295,000, and two cabins on a 1000sq m site are selling for $275,000. Homes with views across Doubtless Bay sell for between $600,000 and $700,000.
For Wellington residents, holiday spots along the Wairarapa coast are getting pricy. Castle Pt and Riversdale prices are creeping up but other spots like Mataikona, Lake Ferry and Ngawi/Cape Palliser are more affordable. A fully-furnished three-bedroom home with a double garage and large section with ocean views at Ngawi was expected to sell for less than $800,000.
Kiwis in the South Island have a much greater choice of affordable places to holiday, with the average prices being considerably lower than North Island holiday spots.
At coastal spots like Southland’s Riverton, dubbed “the Riviera of the South”, Kiwis can still buy a holiday home for $450,000 within walking distance of the beach.
Close to Queenstown, sections at Glenorchy and Kingston sell for $430,000. Install a tiny house or a caravan and you have the ideal holiday spot, agents say.
Plenty of affordable hidden gems are available in the Catlins in popular spots like Curio Bay.
At Kaka Point a fully-furnished two-bedroom Kiwiana beach house is for sale for $490,000. On the waterfront at Fortrose, a three-bedroom home with a sleepout on a big section is for sale for $550,000. The beach is just below and there’s a good chance of catching flounder nearby.
Below is a selection of beach suburbs with average property values of below $850,000. Wakanui in Canterbury had the lowest house average at $303,000 and at the other end, Duvauchelle Bay at the head of Akaroa on Banks Peninsula averaged $833,000.
Search through the regions in the graphic below to find beach suburbs with an average property value below $850,000.
Jane Phare is a senior Auckland-based business, features and investigations journalist, former assistant editor of NZ Herald and former editor of the Weekend Herald and Viva.
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