Water views twice the price

BARGAIN: This house on Stace Hopper Drive in Marsden Cove, marketed by Bayleys Bream Bay, was snapped up by Auckland couple Tony MacDonald and Helen Sumbler for more than $1 million.PHOTO/BAYLEYS

Buyers are willing to pay up to twice as much for Northland properties with water views, according to a website that publishes free sales history and estimated values of houses.

Homes.co.nz estimates buyers are willing to pay 108 per cent more for properties with water views in the Far North (where the median sale price is $351,792) than they would without such views, and 60 per cent more in Whangarei (median $411,931).

The largest water view premiums in the Far North are typically in expensive areas with a median value exceeding $500,000, including Kaeo, Taupo Bay and Opua.

Kaikohe water views command a high premium without being by the sea, perhaps as a result of views of Lake Omapere.

The largest water view premiums in Whangarei are in the areas of Waipu, Oakura, Langs Beach, Taiharuru and Pataua North, according to homes.co.nz.

The most expensive houses in Whangarei are in these areas.

Tony MacDonald, a self-employed businessman in Auckland, recently bought a three-bedroom house in Marsden Cove for more than $1 million and will move in on Friday next week.

The house was sold through Bayleys in Bream Bay.

He and his wife, Helen Sumbler, have been looking for a house north of Auckland for the past 18 months and he came across the property they recently bought while visiting a relative at One Tree Pt.

"It has good views of Whangarei Heads, estuary and it's value for money. In Auckland, you're looking for about $3 million for a similar property," he said.

Mr MacDonald said it was definitely a good time to invest in properties in Northland with nice environment and less traffic.

LJ Hooker Whangarei chief executive Paul Beazley said some buyers specifically asked for good panoramic water views.

"Most people who buy that type of property understand and are prepared to pay a premium for the property," he said. "If you've got access to the water there's a premium over and above for that."

He said the company had sold several properties with sea views in the past few months, particularly in places such as Whangarei Heads, Tutukaka and Oakura.

People often held on to those sorts of properties once they had secured them, he said.

"For a lot of them it's been their lifelong ambition to own a property like that and so they don't give them up freely."

Barfoot and Thompson Whangarei branch manager Martin Dear said the price of a property depended on its location and quality.

Northland's coastal area was diverse and houses by the water ranged from baches to mansions. People loved a good view but sometimes didn't realised how much they would have to pay for it, he said.

"I don't think we've seen the growth that we're going to see in coastal view and waterfront properties."

Mr Dear said it was hard to secure a property by the water because many of those houses stayed in family ownership from generation to generation.

The median home estimate for a property with a water view in Auckland is 48 per cent higher than a property with no view.

Water view houses in Remuera, Takapuna, Mission Bay and Freemans Bay had median values that were more than double those with no view.