Super sale on island paradise

Kawau Island. Photo / NZ Herald

About 30 properties, including several in the million-plus luxury bracket, are up for sale on Kawau Island, a peaceful paradise 60km north of Auckland city that can be reached only by boat.

That means about 7 per cent of the population is selling.

"About a third of the sellers want to get cash out for a multitude of reasons but none is desperate to sell," said Harveys agent John Pryor, who has also lived on the island for 13 years.

The biggest reason for selling is many vendors' children have grown up and they no longer use the baches enough, while others want an income-producing property or they want to cash up.

About 8km from the Rodney coast, Kawau Island is home to roughly 450 properties, including 70 permanent residents, who get around by boat as the island is largely road-less.

Many locals live an eco-friendly lifestyle with composting toilets and gather water from the roof. There are no street lights, but there is electricity and phone services. Locals usually get their groceries from Warkworth.

Pryor says many are drawn to the "magic" of the island, where people live by the flow of the tides, rather than time. "It's a slower pace of life," he says.

The most expensive property for sale is at Hokimai Bay for $3.2 million, which is set on 38ha of land and comes with a home right on the water's edge and three chalets, plus a helicopter pad.

There are cheaper options, too - like a bach on a 1267sq m site going for $195,000, that has a peep of the sea.

Retired Auckland civil engineer and keen boatie, Pat Costello owns one of the premium properties up for sale.

He is selling his waterfront 1930s cottage at Schoolhouse Bay, nestled on 1.5ha of waterfront bush, with an all-tide wharf. It comes with a "winter buyer bonus" - a Farr 727 yacht - if sold before the end of August. The CV is $2.1 million, while the advertisement says "make a fair offer".

Costello and his wife June are moving on because their children have grown and "we want to buy a yacht and cruise around the Med", he says.

However, he admits "there will be tears" when he hands over the keys. "My sons are dead against me selling."

rachel.grunwell@hos.co.nz