The promise of new horizons

There is one thing that all inhabitants of island nations have in common, irrespective of where said islands may be—a love of being near the water. It pervades our very psyches and is never far from our thoughts, especially if we stray from it.

It is not surprising then that waterfront properties are always eagerly sought out and, when secured, fiercely guarded.

“Waterfront is a very aspirational market, with buyers typically seeing purchases as generational investments,” says Mark Macky, Owner and Director of Bayleys in the North. 

“Long-held dreams of waterfront property ownership or fond memories of family holiday homes mean the purchase tends to be a highly emotive one.”

Emotions aside, Mark says waterfront properties in New Zealand tend to be ‘safe bets’ when it comes to making property investment decisions.

“It would be naive to say that waterfront properties are always going to increase in value, they are, afterall, just as susceptible to cyclical fluctuations as other types of property but, generally, they do tend to hold their value better. After the GFC we saw a drop in Auckland real estate prices of around 10 per cent across the board, however, waterfront properties held up better than most.

“In the 30 years that Bayleys has been specialising in marketing waterfront property for sale and tracking this market, the return on investment has been very compelling.”

Last year, Bayleys released the 25th edition of its annual Waterfront magazine, which features coastal, riverside and lakefront properties from New Zealand and Fiji that have direct access to the water.

“To be considered for inclusion in Waterfront, properties need to be fronting onto water—or separated only by public reserve—in some form, that is, beach, river or lake. This also includes clifftop locations.”

You could be forgiven for thinking that the properties featured would be interesting to only the wealthiest few but Mark says Waterfront contains every scale of property from bare land, selling for a few hundred thousand dollars, up to high-end properties hitting the $20 million-plus mark.

“The Bayleys Waterfront team works very hard to make the magazine relevant to all buyers and vendors, the only real stipulation for inclusion is that Bayleys is the sole agency handling the property.”

Bayleys is currently working on the 26th edition and Mark says now is a good time to contact the team if you are considering selling a waterfront property.

“Definitely use a local specialist waterfront agent in your area to talk about your options. If people are unsure of who that agent may be, they can contact me directly and I can refer them to the right person.

“First step though is to get some good advice. Yes, the market for waterfront properties is one of the most resilient but that doesn’t necessarily guarantee a fast sale and vendors need to have realistic expectations about selling, especially in the high-end market where it isn’t unusual for properties to remain on the market for a while before the right buyer is found.

“That said, we are seeing strong activity since Covid-19, with a lot of people reevaluating their personal and family priorities during this time and making decisions that they have been putting off for a while. Now is definitely a good time to sell. Similarly, with interest rates being as low as they are, it is also a good time to borrow on a solid investment.”

Mark says another effect of Covid-19 has been the number of expats looking to return to New Zealand.

“New Zealand has been held up by the global media as one of the nations that has handled the coronavirus crisis incredibly well, which has put us in the spotlight. We have always enjoyed a reputation as an honest and transparent nation and this latest event has just cemented that reputation.

“As a result, we’re fielding increasing enquiries from the expat community, with growing numbers of Kiwis overseas looking to make the return home in the coming months after spending a number of years in some of the busiest cities in the world.”

The close-off date for having your property listed in Waterfront magazine is Friday, 2 October.

Contact your local Bayleys agent for more information.