Torbay

By ROBYN WALSH

A small waterside suburb with a popular village-style atmosphere, Torbay comprises two distinct areas - old Torbay, closest to the sea, and the newer Torbay Heights off East Coast Road to the west.

The former is such a clearly defined area that locals posting mail within this East Coast Bays suburb mark their letters quite clearly "Olde Torbay".

This select area of town sits between the local shops and the sea and includes million-dollar cliff-top homes alongside original beach cottages on big, undeveloped sites. The expensive homes seldom change hands, such is their exclusivity.

This is also the key reason that those modest weatherboard cottages, dating back 40 or 50 years, are now so sought-after and attracting premium prices among Torbay buyers wanting to move nearer the water.

Top dollar for such a cottage on 1012 sq m (the classic Kiwi quarter acre) may mean $350,000 here, whereas cottages on half sites variously fetch from the high $180,000s to the mid $200,000s.

The newer Torbay Heights area was opened up for development about eight years ago and offers executive-style homes with an elevated outlook down the valley and out to sea.

Popular with established second-home and third-home buyers, and well-defined geographically, it borders the northern green belt near Long Bay and, including Waiake Beach to the south, enjoys a special appeal as a cosy, family-oriented North Shore suburb.