Greg Jaques of Jaques Four Square in Kaiwaka believes the town's close proximity to Whangārei and Auckland is a massive appeal to people.
Photo / John Stone
Greg Jaques of Jaques Four Square in Kaiwaka believes the town's close proximity to Whangārei and Auckland is a massive appeal to people.
Photo / John Stone
Like many smaller towns around Northland, Kaiwaka is setting its own trend as a top performer on median house values and the locals aren't surprised.
Latest figures from the OneRoof property report show Kaiwaka was among 10 suburbs from throughout New Zealand that saw the biggest leap in median house values in the three months to January.
The value jumped 8.4 per cent— from $595,000 to $645,000— during that period and 10 per cent over a 12-month period ending January.
Local businesses are relishing the fact more people have moved to the area but lament a lack of infrastructure to support that growth.
Pet shop owner Christelle Hynd of Best Pets Kaiwaka moved from Wellsford 10 months ago said there was a noticeable increase in people who have moved to the small town and surrounding areas.
"Kaiwaka is becoming a place for people who want to commute to Whangārei and to Auckland. Now we need infrastructure to support that growth like roads like those leading to houses here."
She said an absence of a GP clinic was another setback.
Utopia cafe owner Marijke Valkenburg said the rat-race of Auckland meant people looked to settle in places like Kaiwaka and Mangawhai, putting pressure on smaller towns' crumbling infrastructure.
"Local businesses have done a lot to make Kaiwaka a lot better but we need infrastructure like better roads, more electric charging stations, and more parking," she said.
The Eutopia Cafe in Kaiwaka is one of the draw cards for tourists to the small, growing town.
Photo / John Stone
Jaques Four Square owner Greg Jaques said Kaiwaka's close proximity to Auckland carried massive appeal.
"Working remotely these days is easy. People can work from home for three days and a couple of days from Auckland. I think people want to get out of the rat-race and be able to move and commute.
"It's good for local businesses as well. At times you meet people and you ask them whether they are just passing through and they say 'no' they've been living in Kaiwaka for two years," Jaques said.
Population growth is not just impacting on infrastructure and essential services in Kaiwaka but on the roll of Kaiwaka School as well.
School board of trustees chairman Adrian Buxton said the roll has more than doubled— from about 70 to 143 — in the past 12 years which was quite a large number of students for a rural community.
"Oneriri Rd alone has seen a growth in population of 30 per cent in the last five to six years. Recently, we've had to add another classroom as we kept breaching the threshhold.
"We get funds for the education of children but not for expansion when we get children from outside the zone."
Kaiwaka fire chief John Bowmar said a booming property market meant good news for local businesses but said critical infrastructure such as roads and essential services needed to grow as well.
Kaiwaka fire chief John Bowmar says critical infrastructure needs to support growth in the housing and population fronts.
Photo / John Stone
"Properties are really moving. Some properties are on the market for three days and off they go. Kaiwaka is not far from Auckland and Whangārei and Mangawhai, the rates are pretty reasonable and then there's the west coast which is underutilised.
"Movement in the property market is good for local businesses. The only downside is accessing timely services like doctors who can't keep up with the number of people and then there's the older population.
"But you can't stop progress ... it's a double-edged sword, isn't it", said Bowmar who has lived in Kaiwaka all his life.
