NZ’s cheapest beach towns: Where to find a bach for less than $500,000
뉴질랜드 가장 저렴한 해변 마을: 50만 달러 미만 바닷가 별장(Bach) 찾을 수 있는 곳
뉴질랜드 전역에는 여전히 50만 달러 이하로 해변 인근 주택이 거래되는 지역들이 곳곳에 남아 있다.
이 가격대에서는 다소 개성이 강하거나 외진 곳에 위치한 주택을 구입할 수 있는 경우가 많으며, 전통적인 키위식 배치(Bach) 타운은 아닐 수 있지만 주택 상당수가 최대 50만 달러 수준의 가치를 지닌 소규모 정착지들도 적지 않다. 그럼에도 일부 지역에서는 비교적 합리적인 가격으로 전통적인 배치(Bach) 분위기를 여전히 느낄 수 있다.
부동산 플랫폼 원루프(OneRoof)의 데이터 파트너 발로시티(Valocity)는 해안선에서 800m 이내에 주거용 부동산이 50채 이상 있는 교외 지역 361곳을 분석했다. 다만 이 가운데 일부 지역은 전통적인 키위 해변 타운의 정의에는 완전히 부합하지 않는 곳들도 포함됐다. 일부는 준도시형 정착지였지만, 주민들에게는 충분한 해변과 바다 접근성을 제공하는 지역들이었다.
분석 결과 361개 교외 지역 중 주택의 50% 이상이 50만 달러 미만으로 평가된 곳은 62곳이었으며, 남섬 웨스트코스트, 노스랜드, 기즈번 지역의 교외와 타운들이 상위권을 차지했다. 벌러 지역의 웨스트포트와 타라나키의 와이타라는 저렴한 주택 수 기준으로 가장 눈에 띄는 지역으로, 두 곳 모두 1000채 이상의 합리적인 가격대 주택을 보유하고 있었다.
Cheap By The Beach: Where To Find Affordable Baches
아래 표는 해안에서 800m 이내에 50채 이상의 주거용 부동산이 있는 361개 뉴질랜드 교외 지역의 50만 달러 미만 주거용 부동산 비율과 수를 보여줍니다. 교외 지역은 50만 달러 미만 주택 비율 순으로 정렬되었습니다.
오클랜드에서 50만 달러 이하의 해변 주택을 찾는 일은 쉽지 않았지만 불가능한 것은 아니었다. 조사 결과 오클랜드 내 해변 교외 5곳에서 전체 주택의 10% 이상이 50만 달러 미만으로 평가된 것으로 나타났다. 이 가운데 가장 높은 비중을 보인 곳은 하우라키 걸프의 라키노 아일랜드로, 전체 주택의 31%가 50만 달러 이하로 평가됐다. 다만 발로시티 수석 리서치 애널리스트 웨인 섬은 이 섬이 통근 측면에서는 상당히 불리한 위치라고 설명했다.
원루프는 올해 초 라키노 아일랜드를 다뤘으며, 와이헤케 북서쪽에 위치한 이 섬에 대한 관심이 최근 들어 눈에 띄게 증가했다고 현지 중개인들은 전했다. 반면 와이헤케 아일랜드처럼 인기 있는 해변 지역들은 이번 목록에서 사실상 제외됐다. 와이헤케의 경우 50만 달러 이하로 평가된 주택은 31채에 불과했다. 이 중 일부는 수백만 달러대 가격이 형성된 팜 비치에 위치했지만, 섬은 상대적으로 저렴한 배치들은 언덕 위 숲속에 자리한 경우가 많아 항공 사진에서는 잘 드러나지 않는다고 설명했다. 그는 해변 바로 옆에 있다는 것과 실제로 바다 조망이 가능한지는 분명한 차이가 있다고 덧붙였다.
부유한 해변 타운인 오마하에는 50만 달러 이하 주택이 전혀 없었고, 와이푸 코브 인근의 고가 지역 랭스 비치 역시 마찬가지였다. 파노스 지역의 러셀은 단 4채에 그쳤으며, 코로만델의 파우아누이, 황가마타, 위티앙가는 합산 144채가 50만 달러 이하였지만 핵심 입지는 아니었다. 남섬에서는 크라이스트처치에서 가장 인기 있는 배치 타운으로 꼽히는 아카로아에서도 50만 달러 이하 주택 비중이 5%에 불과했다.
섬은 이번 목록에 포함된 일부 지역들은 단순히 본래 주택 가격이 낮은 지역으로, 바다와 인접해 있지만 주요 도시나 서비스 시설과의 거리가 상당히 먼 곳들이라고 설명했다. 그는 오늘날 휴가용 주택 시장에서 ‘저렴한 전통 배치’라는 개념은 다소 오해의 소지가 있다며, 요즘 아이들에게 재래식 화장실을 사용하는 배치를 설득하기는 쉽지 않다고 말했다. 현재의 배치는 더 이상 단순한 오두막이 아니라, 바다 옆에 있다는 점을 제외하면 일반 교외에서 흔히 볼 수 있는 4베드룸 주택과 크게 다르지 않으며, 배관 시설과 와이파이, 광대역 인터넷, 경우에 따라 상수도까지 갖춘 경우가 많다고 덧붙였다. 또한 오래된 배치 상당수는 현재의 건축 기준을 통과하지 못할 것이라고 말했다.
베이 오브 플렌티 지역에서는 동해안을 따라 오마이오, 테 카하, 토아토아, 토레레 등의 지역에 50만 달러 이하로 평가된 주택이 다수 존재하지만, 하코츠 오포티키의 대표 웬디 무어는 이들 지역이 휴가용 배치 밀집지가 아니라 해안선을 따라 이어진 소규모 마을들이라고 설명했다. 이 지역은 바위 해안이 많고 테 카하가 그중 비교적 규모가 큰 중심지이며, 시장 수요 역시 지역에 대한 이해나 연고가 있는 사람들 위주의 틈새 시장이라고 말했다.
마나와투-황가누이의 폭스턴 비치는 전체 주택의 약 40%, 약 600채가 50만 달러 이하로 평가됐으며, 이 지역은 상주 거주자와 배치가 혼재된 전통적인 해변 교외로 꼽힌다. 현지 중개인들은 이 지역이 여전히 키위식 배치 분위기를 유지하고 있지만, 웰링턴에서 이어지는 모터웨이 개통으로 접근성이 개선되며 점차 변화하고 있다고 전했다. 그럼에도 넓은 대지 위에 기본적인 구조만 갖춘 전형적인 배치들이 여전히 남아 있으며, 일부는 토지 가치 상승으로 분할이 진행되고 있다.
캔터베리의 애시버턴 농촌 지역은 와카누이 비치로 인해 목록에 포함됬는데, 이곳은 주택의 89%가 50만 달러 이하로 평가됐지만 강한 이안류로 인해 수영이 제한되는 해변으로 알려져 있다. 뱅크스 반도의 버들링스 플랫 역시 수영에는 위험 요소가 있지만, 주택의 85%가 50만 달러 이하로 평가되며 소규모 배치 정착지로 관광객의 발길이 이어지는 지역이다.
벌러 지역에서는 웨스트포트 인근의 카터스 비치가 아직 덜 알려진 해변 배치 타운으로 평가됐다. 현지 중개인들은 이 지역이 외진 위치에도 불구하고 아열대성 미기후와 합리적인 가격 덕분에 젊은 가족층의 관심을 끌고 있다고 전했다.
북섬 최북단 파이히아 역시 50만 달러 이하 주택이 일부 남아 있지만, 베이 오브 아일랜즈의 관문 역할을 하는 리조트형 지역인 만큼 매물 수는 제한적이다. 일부 아파트나 휴가용 투자 물건은 50만 달러 이하에 거래되기도 하지만, 상시 거주가 제한되고 관리 회사 운영을 전제로 한 구조라는 점이 특징이다.
카이파라 지역의 항구 주변 정착지들 역시 50만 달러 이하 목록에 포함됐으며, 그중 티노파이는 아직 널리 알려지지 않은 전통적인 배치와 낚시 마을의 분위기를 간직한 곳으로 평가됐다. 현지 중개인들은 이 지역이 개발 이전의 옛 뉴질랜드 해변 마을 감성을 그대로 유지하고 있으며, 여름철에는 수영과 카약, 낚시를 즐기는 사람들로 해변이 붐빈다고 전했다.
NZ’s cheapest beach towns: Where to find a bach for less than $500,000
Dotted around New Zealand are beachy locations where, believe it or not, properties can still sell for under half a million dollars.
At these prices, you may be able to pick up something a bit quirky or a bit isolated. The property might not be in a traditional bach town, but could be in a little settlement where a substantial number of properties have an estimated value of up to $500,000.
But some parts of New Zealand do still offer a more traditional bach vibe for affordable dollars.
OneRoof’s data partner, Valocity, crunched the numbers and found 361 suburbs with 50 or more residential properties within 800m of the coast – the caveat is some of these areas don’t fit the traditional definition of a Kiwi beach town.
Some were more semi-urban settlements, but they did still offer residents a decent stretch of sand and water.
Cheap By The Beach: Where To Find Affordable Baches
The table shows the percentage and number of residential properties worth less than $500,000 in the 361 Kiwi suburbs with 50 or more residential properties within 800m of the coast. The suburbs are ranked by percentage of homes under $500,000.
Of the 361 suburbs analysed, Valocity identified 62 where more than 50% of the homes had an estimated value less than $500,000, with suburbs and towns on the West Coast of the South Island, Northland and Gisborne dominating the list.
Westport, in Buller, and Waitara, in Taranaki, were the best bets on sheer numbers, with both locations boasting more than 1000 affordable homes. Finding a beach home for less than $500,000 in Auckland was difficult, although not impossible.
The research found five beach suburbs in Auckland where 10% or more of the homes had a value of less than $500,000.
However, the one with the most was an island – Rakino Island in the Hauraki Gulf had 31% of its stock valued at less than $500,000, but as Valocity senior research analyst Wayne Shum said, the island is a hell of a commute.
OneRoof wrote about Rakino at the start of the year, with agents saying interest in the island to the north-west of Waiheke had noticeably picked up.
Notably absent from the list were other popular beach locations, such as Waiheke Island, which had only 31 properties with an estimated value under $500,000.
Some of those were in Palm Beach, where prices can be in the millions, but Shum says the much cheaper baches would likely be up the hill in the bush and were hard to see on aerial photos.
“It’s not the waterfront – that’s still primo – but once you start going up Hill Road and Palm Road, they don’t get sea view because of the nature of the contour, and they’re on a 45-degree slope.
“There’s a difference between being next to the beach and whether you can see the beach.”
In the wealthy beach town of Omaha there were no properties under $500,000, nor were there any in pricey Langs Beach, which is along from Waipu Cove. Russell in the Far North had just four, and the Coromandel hotspots of Pauanui, Whangamata and Whitianga had 144 between them, just not in the prized spots.
In the South Island, Christchurch’s favourite bach town, Akaroa, had a mere 5% of homes worth less than $500,000.
Shum said some of the places that showed up are simply naturally cheaper areas, which happen to be by the ocean but which are a long way from anywhere else.
Traditional cheap baches are a bit of a misnomer these days in a world of holiday homes, he said: “You’re not going to convince your kid these days to use a long drop.
“These days baches are not really baches; they are four-bedroom houses that you would easily find in a regular suburb except that it’s next to the ocean – plumbing, Wi-Fi, broadband, possibly mains water even.”
Some of the old baches would never pass today’s building code, he added.
In the Bay of Plenty, places like Omaio, Te Kaha, Toatoa and Torere along the East Coast are home to numerous properties estimated to be valued under $500,000 but Harcourts Opotiki principal Wendy Moore said these represented small settlements along the coastline rather than holiday home areas.
“A lot of it is rocky shore. Te Kaha is a popular one. I mean, they’re all just little villages along the way. Te Kaha is sort of the biggest centre and then Waihau Bay which is a bit further.”
The market was niche in that most people had local knowledge or a connection to the area.
“We have the odd property at Waiotahe Beach Estate, a 20-plus year-old beachside subdivision where restrictive covenants have never been enforced and therefore cabins, pods and camping are common. This area is just 3 to 4km West of Opotiki.”
Under $500,000 included sections, and at the time of writing Harcourts had a property on the market at Waiotahe, which had two transportable dwellings plus a container with solar power, a shower and a toilet.
Foxton Beach in Manawatu-Whanganui has nearly 40% of its housing stock estimated at $500,000 or less, or nearly 600 properties.
The beach area, which is just out of Foxton township, is a mix of permanent residents and baches with Nigel van der Schouw, from OneAgency Horowhenua, offering a three-bedroom, two-bathroom home for enquiries over $449,000.
The 1960s bach was near the Manawatu River and estuary, van der Schouw said, and not far from the “famous-in-Foxton-Beach” Mr Grumpy’s takeaways.
Foxton Beach had its own river and patrolled beach and while his listing was a walk away from the beach, he said baches still sometimes sold by the ocean in the $400,000s.
The area was an old-fashioned bach suburb but was slowly changing, especially with the Expressway coming from Wellington giving faster access.
“But there are still some real Kiwiana baches that are just basic baches on big sections. Some of them are obviously getting subdivided now with the land values but you can buy a section for sort of $200,000-plus there, for a little half section, 400 square metres.”
The township of Foxton was only a five-minute drive with supermarkets and services, while Foxton Beach didn’t have much more than a Four Square, another dairy and fish and chip shops.
But that just meant people felt like they were on holiday: “You’re not going there for shopping. You’re gonna go there for fishing or go down the beach.”
Rural Ashburton, in Canterbury, features on the list because of Wakanui beach – 89% of properties there were valued under $500,000 – but the beach is known as a no-swimming beach because of the undertow.
Another beach that can be a bit treacherous is at Birdlings Flat in Banks Peninsula, where most of the properties (85%) come in under $500,000, with not much for sale, but just because the beach might not be for swimming, the little settlement does get tourists.
Mike Stewart, of Ray White, reckons the spot is a beauty. He and colleague Kerryn Allen were marketing a property on Hillview Road and while it was price by negotiation and did not necessarily fall in the OneRoof range for this story, that was because the property involved a house and also a rock museum/shop.
Birdlings Flat is a tiny community and one of those areas where the town hall is probably the only community building, Stewart says: “There’s no shops or anything like that.”
He described his listing as having a standard New Zealand bach feel, but up in the turret-style master bedroom windows on all sides took in magnificent views of the beach one way, mountains another way, as well as lake views and plains.
“You can literally see all of the biomes you could imagine – lake, sea, mountains, plains. It’s so, so nice. You could go to sleep, not have to shut any curtains and then wake up to a really, really awesome scenic view.”
The rock museum part of the listing attracted buses of tourists and was “the thing that puts Birdlings Flat on the map a little bit.”
The settlement itself was a mix of full-time residents and holiday homes and had nice walks and a bike track.
Stewart describes Birdlings Flat as having an isolated charm – and on top of that said people often went there to watch the Aurora Australis, or Southern Lights.
Over in Buller, while Westport might not scream beach town Ray White agent Martin Jack says just down the road is an undiscovered gem.
At the time of writing, he had a property in the community of Carters Beach on the market for $439,000, comprising two dwellings on one section. He was advertising it as “beachside, small section and income”.
Jack says Carters Beach is a seaside town with local tourism, a holiday camp and a cycleway.
“It’s a nice seaside town; you’ve got a café, bar, restaurant there.”
Wesport is only a few minutes away for bigger shopping. The listing Jack had was used as a holiday rental and was booked out most of the year. While people in Auckland may not know of its existence, Jack says Carters Beach is a cracking spot.
“We’re probably one of the most remote towns. There’s only one way in and one way out. It’s a bit of a microclimate. It’s subtropical, winterless.”
People came to get away from it all there, and a lot of young families lived there because the pricing was good.
Nearby Cape Foulwind has a walkway, a seal colony and a lighthouse and was so named by James Cook in 1769 because of the strong winds.
At the other end of the country, Paihia in the Far North still boasts a few properties worth under $500,000, though few were on offer in the resort-style gateway to the Bay of Islands at the time of writing.
Mike Crosbie, of Raine & Horne, had a one-bedroom cottage for sale for $449,000 at Te Haumi, on the flat area before the hill into Paihia.
He said the price was reasonably unusual for Paihia these days, but the property was outside the main thoroughfare.
Sometimes apartments or holiday investment lets could go under $500,000 in the busy tourist centre, but they sometimes had a catch that people could not live in them permanently; rather, they could holiday in them, but a management company would let them out, and owners would derive an income.
The little home in Te Haumi was in a group of about 18 or 20 homes and close to the water, away from the madding crowd and could be used however the buyer wanted, he said.
It was a cross lease on a freehold site which meant there were no body corporate fees.
“It used to be freestanding apartments for a hotel. It’s literally 50 metres from the beach. My grandsons learned to windsurf there – I used to live on the same road.”
The beach was “safe as” and Paihia shops was only two minutes over the hill.
Crosbie says Paihia is wonderful: “We went there for three weeks 40 years ago; we forgot to leave.”
In the Kaipara, settlements around the Harbour also feature in the under $500,000 list.
One of them is Tinopai, a picturesque little fishing village and home to Fiona Rouse of Ray White.
At the time of writing, she was selling a property in Sandy Beach Road, which had a CV of $460,000.
She says it’s much harder to get a property for under $500,000 these days, though the Valocity list showed 25% of homes there were estimated to be valued under that.
Rouse said she bought a holiday home in Tinopai several years ago and basically lived there now: “It’s a gorgeous spot. It’s undiscovered, which is nice.”
An “absolute assortment” of people lived there, with quite a few commuting for work to areas like Warkworth.
A lot of old families owned in Tinopai, with some properties being owned by the same family for generations, and others who buy into Tinopai don’t want to let the properties go, she says, stressing how good the fishing is.
Don’t expect to eat out, although Rouse says there is a food caravan that operates especially through the summer, but there’s no supermarket or shops.
“That’s the joy of it. You’ve got to pack and come prepared.”
Rouse says Tinopai has a feel of old New Zealand: “It’s almost like back before places like Omaha and that were discovered, real bachy fishing village kind of feel.
“There’s a campground here which is always quite busy. It’s surprising, actually, over summer you can look down over the beach – I did yesterday – and there must have been 100 people down there, swimming, kayaking.”
