Panmure

Water views on two fronts - across the Panmure Basin and the Tamaki River - are a feature of Panmure's geography. They are also a key draw-card for buyers moving into the area from elsewhere in Auckland.

Many a prospective renovator has driven across town to discover that they can buy fine views for the same amount they were planning to spend on renovating their existing home.

Buying water's edge exclusivity here is, as elsewhere in Auckland, as much a matter of timing as affordability. In Panmure, a top figure of $500,000 can secure a home on the water's edge . . . should one come on the market.

Panmure's "golden triangle" around Riverview Rd, Kings Rd and Queens Rd and the enclave of homes around Waipuna Rd East, don't change hands very often.

The new Mountain View apartments and Lagoon Terraces in Domain Rd, have brought sophisticated living, and buyers from other parts of Auckland, into a suburb which was once a focus of the post-War State housing boom.

Panmure's comparatively few villas and bungalows are dotted among the ex-State houses, which now sell for $175,000-plus and which attract young, first-home buyers.

Supported by a local shopping strip, Swimarama and other sporting clubs, Panmure is close to Pakuranga and Manukau City. The new south-western arterial motorway has made the area more accessible by easing peak-hour traffic on Waipuna Rd.