Rich-lister’s Mount Maunganui house price record may not stand for long
Tauranga has seen a spike in big money sales.
The record-breaking sale of a beachside apartment in Tauranga tops a growing number of high-end sales in the city.
This week it was revealed that rich-lister Sir Colin Giltrap had sold his five-bedroom penthouse in Mount Maunganui for $10.2 million, making it the most expensive home in Tauranga and the first to break the $10m barrier in the city.
But the record may not stand for long. OneRoof understands that more prestige deals in Tauranga are due to settle soon, with one sale price rumoured to exceed Sir Colin’s.
Agents in the city have been tight-lipped about the top end of town, but sources have told OneRoof that big sums of between $7m and $11m have been paid for properties in recent months.
And an analysis sales figures by OneRoof’s data partner, Valocity, shows there has been a spike in $5m-plus sales in Tauranga.
When Sir Colin bought his penthouse on Maunganui Road in 2010 for $5.5m, it was only the second ever residential sale to break $5m in Tauranga.
Since then there have been 28 sales of more than $5m, most of which are concentrated around Mount Maunganui’s key beachfront streets of Marine Parade and Oceanbeach Road.
OneRoof records of settled sales show that in 2020 four properties sold for more than $5m, but by 2021 the tally had more than quadrupled.
Sir Colin’s penthouse, bought in December last year by Tauranga businessman and philanthropist Sir Paul Adams, broke an earlier record set in July last year of just over $9.5m for a 507sqm home on Marine Parade, while the month earlier another property fetched $8.5m.
David Martin, chief operating officer of the Realty Group, which operates the Bayleys and Eves real estate agencies in the region, said that buyers at the top end of Tauranga’s housing market had very specific requirements, even down where on Marine Parade and Oceanbeach Road they wanted to buy.
Some were even settling for older 1950s or 60s properties that would get them closer to the beach.
“Sixty percent of those buyers are local. They want to move closer to the beach, or up the road, or across from Tauranga,” he said.
“It’s a very narrow market, and there is potential for a few more sales over $10m, but there wouldn’t be more than ten properties [that would fit that category].”
Ray White’s Simon Cotter, a second generation realtor in the Mount, said that families tended to hold onto high-value properties, passing them down from generation to generation. But there were buyers out there if they ever did sell them.
“There’s always a market with those budgets,” he said.
Bayleys agent Kay Ganley said that location was key for top end buyers. She is marketing a former motel on 809sqm of land at 30 Marine Parade which is likely to fetch top dollar due to its proximity to the beach.
“It has the potential to be turned into a ‘grand design’-style dream home,” she said.
“People are looking for a special site. We sold one on Marine Parade last year for $6.25m. It had been in the same family since it was built in 1979 on a half site. But it was a real beauty with glorious island and sea views, and the buyer plans to renovate.
“We’ve got people with $5m to spend, but it has to be something special.”