Tairua property values catching up on Pauanui

Property values in the Coromandel town of Tairua are fast catching up on its flashier neighbour, Pauanui.

Average prices in some Coromandel holiday hotspots have doubled over the past five years, and the percentage increase in Tairua is the highest in the district, outstripping Pauanui.

If you bought at the average price paid for a home in Pauanui five years ago - $314,264 - you would have made a gross profit of 63 per cent on your investment.

Based on Quotable Value Statistics for 2005, that same property would now be expected to fetch $512,926.

But even bigger gains have been made across the estuary in Tairua.

Five years ago the average price paid for a home in Tairua was $217,306.

In 2005 you would have paid an average of $445,375 - 105 per cent more than in 2001.

Tairua is now the second-most expensive beach spot on the peninsula, although figures show that, on average, you'll still have to fork out an extra $67,551 for the privilege of a Pauanui address.

Whangamata is now the third-most expensive settlement in which to purchase a Coromandel beach property, with an average sale price in 2005 of $428,009.

It appears demand is still far outstripping supply, and prices are not being dampened by the growth in the number of new dwelling consents issued in the district.

Thames Coromandel District Council this week released figures that show the number of homes built in the area continues to soar.

A total of 2061 consents have been issued for new dwellings over the past five years, at an annual growth rate of 2.6 per cent between March 2001 and March 2006.

Five hundred new consents were issued for Whitianga, closely followed by Cooks Beach with 466.

Matarangi had the strongest growth in the district however, with a growth rate of 14.7 per cent, or 260 additional dwelling consents.

"Figures clearly indicate that growth in dwelling numbers across the peninsula is still strong, particularly on the eastern coast of the peninsula," said council strategic policy manager Katherine Palmer.

New apartment complexes accounted for much of the growth, she said.

Mayor Philippa Barriball said a moratorium on new subdivisions in Tairua and Pauanui over recent years was restricting growth in those areas. New dwelling consents could be issued only on existing vacant land.

The moratorium is in response to the limited capacity of the towns' sewage systems. Wastewater upgrades costing $40.8 million are planned for Tairua-Pauanui, Whitianga, and Whangamata between now and 2014.

Another $23 million will be spent upgrading wastewater plants in Hahei, Thames, Coromandel and Matarangi over the next decade.