Harcourts real estate agent Lisa Tippen sold this bach at 23 Reserve Rd, Waikuku Beach, for $406,000 last week. Photo / Chris Barclay
Harcourts real estate agent Lisa Tippen sold this bach at 23 Reserve Rd, Waikuku Beach, for $406,000 last week. Photo / Chris Barclay
Demand for baches in Canterbury and throughout New Zealand's prime holiday spots is heating up before summer as Covid-19 means Kiwis are looking closer to home for vacations with overseas travel off the itinerary. Chris Barclay assesses the market.
It was hardly beach weather as roaring open fire radiated warmth under leaden skies while a brisk sea breeze buffeted Waikuku.
The spa pool on the deck had the cover pulled back, a cunning enticement for the 15 bidders sat in the lounge at 23 Reserve Rd.
Two massive macrocarpa trees were also freshly felled in the backyard, and those hunks of firewood by the kiddies playhouse were listed among the chattels.
But this bach is essentially a summer getaway, so a couple of push bikes for the short jaunt to the shore were also included in the purchase price.
The auction started at 4pm at $360,000; Linda Warren-Davey tapped the gavel 19min later after a bidder lodged an offer of $406,000 via mobile in Wellington for a holiday home they have not yet set foot in.
For Waikuku Beach-based real estate agent Lisa Tippen, the straightforward sale summed up a buoyant sector of a booming property market – the quintessential Kiwi bach is back in vogue as Covid-19 grounds overseas travel.
Tippen's sale last Wednesday was her third in three weeks as the beach settlement 30-odd kilometres north of Christchurch proves popular for holidaymakers, retirees and those seeking a lifestyle change from the hustle and bustle of city life.
"When I started selling baches out here 23 years ago places like this were $60,000, so the prices are creeping up quite a lot," Tippen said, while sat on the porch at No 23.
"People are turning up to open homes looking for a holiday bach because they feel they're not going on holiday (overseas) for at least the next five years."
Waikuku Beach-based real estate agent Lisa Tippen. Photo / Chris Barclay
Tippen also sold the property down the road at No 31.
"That was a bought forward auction. I had four bidders, but the bought forward price, as soon as we announced it, nobody else bid. It sold for $550,000 which was a record. The feedback was in the mid to late fours but this lady really, really wanted it."
Interest now outstripped demand, likely until the new year when owners reassess over the Christmas break.
Selling could certainly be an option in 2021 with the median property price in Waikuku jumping 20.40 per cent in the 12 months to September, according to the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand.
A property worth $357,000 in September 2019 was now valued at $430,000 while a lack of available land also bumped up property values for even the most weather-beaten dwelling.
"The thing out here is the land is so expensive now," Tippen said.
"The last section to sell out here was $220,000 and that was over a year ago. That same section now would probably get closer to late 2s."
Firewood and a playhouse was part of the deal when a Waikuku Beach bach changed hands. Photo / Chris Barclay
Consequently many old baches are bought to be demolished – like the one next door to No 23 – and replaced by swankier constructions.
"You see pockets as you drive . . . old, old, brand new," Tippen said.
As the unsuccessful bidders trailed away from No 23, Tippen revealed the new owner grew up in Christchurch and used to go to Waikuku on holiday.
The sellers bought the bach for $355,000 in February, 2018 as a holiday home, and opted to shift it to expand their business through a new commercial property in Christchurch.
Although Covid-19 has created havoc globally, enclaves like Waikuku illustrated how the pandemic had boosted the real estate industry.
"If this was sold pre-lockdown it probably would have sold for $370,000, the increases are pretty amazing," Tippen said.
"When we came out of lockdown everyone said the market was going to be in trouble but I don't think Canterbury ever really had its major surge like Queenstown and Auckland did. I think we're having our surge upwards now."
This 50-year-old one bedroom bach in Akaroa is valued between $600,000-$650,000. It last fetched $500,000 in 2007. Photo / Supplied
Sales in holiday spots contribute to booming property market
As summer approaches, baches are helping light up a booming property market as Kiwis seek bases closer to home rather than splurge on overseas travel amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Median property prices in leading holiday spots in Canterbury and throughout the country have jumped over the last 12 months, according to figures released by the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand.
Ray White New Zealand South Island regional manager Jane Meyer said interest in baches was indicative of the broader market.
"Obviously people have looked at their money in the bank and thought 'it's not earning me anything', mortgages are cheap, we're not going overseas and where are we going to go on our holidays?
"That's just building the whole momentum in the market. It's been driven from the first home buyers right through, this is the market we've found ourselves in. Covid has kind of created a mini-boom," she said.
Jane Meyer.
While Akaroa and Wainui were popular spots in Canterbury, there was even more demand elsewhere on the Mainland.
