Red Beach

Tucked in a corner of the Whangaparaoa Peninsula, Red Beach offers all sorts of homes to all sorts of buyers.

It's not unusual to find an original bach, a basic, slightly more expensive three-bedroom cottage and an executive residence all in the same block.

It's the modern, well-priced homes that are catching the eyes of an astute sector of the buying public - home owners in their 50s to 70s, close to and at retirement age.

Recent months have seen increasing numbers of these buyers opting for an easier transition from a big family home into a smaller home, rather than into a tiny home unit with all that it implies in shared, scaled-down facilities.

They're freeing up equity for a here-and-now quality lifestyle, alongside younger buyers across all price ranges who are trading down to quit expensive mortgages.

This latter trend is as evident in the lower $180,000 to $200,000 price bracket as the upper $500,000 to $1 million, with families across-the-board keen to stay in Red Beach with its local primary school, and intermediate and secondary schools in nearby Stanmore Bay and Orewa respectively.

The recent motorway extension has also brought Red Beach to the attention of buyers from as far away as Northland and the Coromandel, keen to move close, but not too close, to the buzz of the metropolis.