Mangakino city dwellers
Mangakino’s cementing itself as the place for city dwellers to escape to.
Described by one resident as what Whangamata used to be like in the 70s, the village, 39.1km south of Tokoroa and 55.7km north of Taupo¯ , sits on the shores of Lake Maraetai.
It has a population of less than 1000 and between 70 to 80 per cent of its homes are owned by holidaymakers.
Bayleys real estate agent Kaye Beazley said while the town has traditionally been popular with Aucklanders and Wellingtonians, during the last two years there has been an influx in people from Tauranga and Palmerston North snapping up any real estate available.
She said gone are the days of people getting dirt cheap properties.
‘‘The average house price is in the low $200,000 and if they are priced pretty good they are going within 60 days. I haven’t had anything this year that has made 90 days,’’ she said.
‘‘The last two years have been like this and it has got to the stage where we are now waiting for the next wave of people who have brought them so many years ago as holiday homes to be ready to sell them.
‘‘There are always people coming in thinking they can still try and get one of those real cheap little baches but those days are gone, they are just not there anymore, and it’s the same with the sections. I don’t think there is anything now under $70,000.
Beazley said having more people come from outside of Auckland and Wellington was changing the dynamics of the town.
‘‘It used to just be people from Auckland and Wellington coming for Christmas and school holidays but now we are getting people from other parts of New Zealand coming on different weekends too,’’ she said.
‘‘It is nice because you are not just going all year of seeing nobody. If it is a fine weekend