A Hawke's Bay coastal property sells during a $1 reserve auction led by Bayleys auctioneer George Yeoman. Video / NZME
Some will call it a great deal. Others, a liability not worth the headache.
Whatever your view, a beachfront Hawke’s Bay property in the coastal community of Haumoana sold at auction for $100,000 on Friday.
The main catch for the new owner is roughy half the section has already been reclaimed by the ocean, and there is no guarantee further erosion won’t continue.
The sale of the vacant 736sq m property garnered enormous interest nationally and even overseas after being marketed with a $1 reserve in the lead-up to the auction, organised by real estate company Bayleys.
An Auckland-based phone bidder, who wanted to remain private, won the auction for the property at 7 Clifton Rd following a back-and-forth bidding contest with another potential buyer.
The coastal property which sold on Friday. Photo / Bayleys
Bayleys real estate agent Fiona Mackenzie said the successful bidder was “thrilled to buy it”.
“[She] is just going to enjoy it for how it is - have picnics and maybe do a bit of planting and just enjoy the coast.”
Mackenzie said she had never been involved in a $1 reserve auction before and was rapt with how it went, with enormous interest including 42 phone calls the day before the auction.
The property last sold in 2021 for the same price: $100,000.
The property is classified as being in a Coastal Hazard Zone which means it comes with a building restriction - so permanent structures and houses are likely out of the question.
Former owner Andy Coltart (centre) amid a healthy crowd of people witnessing the auction for the Haumoana section. Photo / Paul Taylor
One positive for the property, other than the spectacular views of Hawke Bay and Cape Kidnappers, is a concrete wall has been built next to the water’s edge to help protect the flat site at the rear.
It is also across the road from the Haumoana shops and pub.
Mackenzie said, prior to it selling, it would be up to the new buyer to decide how to move forward with the site which came “without any warranties or guarantees”.
The site previously included a storm-wrecked house and was even earmarked for a restaurant, along with other nearby sections, which didn’t go ahead.
Vendor Andy Coltart said he was “really thrilled” with the outcome on Friday.
“It was very well orchestrated and very well run,” he said.
“All the work that happened on social media [around this auction] has alerted a lot of New Zealanders to the beauty of this coast.
“For someone to come here with a bit more energy, to spend the time here, will be a fantastic thing and I’m really thrilled.”
Rates (for Hastings District Council and Hawke’s Bay Regional Council) were about $1500 combined for the property, for the 2023/24 council year.
A Hastings District Council spokesperson said there were some potential restrictions on what could be done with the site in the future, including putting a caravan on it.
The section was being marketed with a $1 reserve auction ahead of the on-site auction on Friday. Photo / Paul Taylor
“The site is within a tsunami inundation area, which imposes restrictions on activities additional to those that apply under the Haumoana-Te Awanga residential zone.
“Whether an activity would require resource consent would depend on factors such as how long the caravan was occupied, whether it was rented out and whether the caravan was there permanently or intermittently.”
Bayleys Hawke’s Bay principal James Macpherson was on the phone to the winning bidder during the auction, relaying her requests to auctioneer George Yeoman.
He said this was the first $1 reserve auction he had been involved in during his 30 years in the industry and “we won’t see many of these”.
