Coromandel property boom roars on

Elizabeth Binning investigates Coromandel Peninsula property prices which have made the seaside bach a fading dream for many.

Property sales on the Coromandel Peninsula have more than trebled in the past four years and the market shows no sign of slowing.

Bach, house and section prices continue to rise steadily and there have been record sales months this year.

In February more than $56 million worth of property was sold - a 60 per cent increase on February last year and higher than any month in the past four years.

In May, traditionally a slower month, there were sales of $43 million, making it the second highest month in the past four years.

Those figures, said real estate agents, did little to support talk of a pending slump. Listings remained short and interest in houses just two hours from Auckland remained high.

Richardsons Real Estate principal officer Neil Christie said property on the peninsula, with its beach baches, bush-clad sections and trendy resorts, started to take off about four years ago.

He attributed the rising prices to better roads (the tar sealing triggered a surge of sales in Matarangi) and the strong Auckland market which gave people extra cash.

Mr Christie said there had been a noticeable increase in the number of expats buying sections on the peninsula since the terror attacks of September 11, 2001.

"We had all these expats coming back home to live or secure properties."

More and more working-class New Zealanders are struggling to afford property on the peninsula.

Residents said many Coromandel seaview sections had become so expensive - often around $1 million - that they would be snapped up by foreigners who saw them as cheap investments.

However, council figures suggest less than 2 per cent of the properties are owned by foreigners - and in many cases those foreigners are expat New Zealanders.

Thames-based Harcourt marketing manager Maureen Mallinson said there was not a real concern at this stage of foreign owners pushing New Zealand families out of the market.

She said people could still enter the property market if they looked in the right areas, especially on the western coast and near Thames.

"You can still - just - get a home for under $200,000 with small sea views.

"For between $200,000 and $300,000 you can get a nice home with an en suite."