Take the low road

Affording your own bach these days means going off the beaten track and checking out those less popular areas.

Monday, December 27th 2004, 6:10PM

by Vicki Holder

Don’t take the scenic route if you’re on the lookout for an affordable waterfront bach. That’s what everybody else has done so you’ll pay moonbeams for them. Instead, hunt out those little out-of-the-way places that are still relatively undiscovered.

You could easily be tempted by the affordable magic of Cornwallis, a little waterfront community accessed through Titirangi at the northern end of the Manukau Harbour. Bayleys is advertising an untouched classic Kiwi bach on the sandy shoreline with just a reserve between it and the water. And they’re expecting around $500,000.

Manager of Bayleys Titirangi office, Lynn Lacy-Hauck, says: "It has a feel of the 50s - the real deal, where we used to stay as teenagers. A black creosote bach, it’s had one lady owner for 40 years. There are others in the bush, but to get this close to the water is very rare."

She doesn’t know why the values out her way are lower, "but they are, and it’s great buying".

Laingholm, says Lacy-Hauck, is another very affordable beachfront area beyond Titirangi. You can buy for around $400,000 but it has become quite suburban in recent years.

Claire Miller of Bayleys recommends the Awhitu Peninsula, also on the west coast on the Manukau Harbour side. She has a bach for sale at Matakawau Bay, about one and a quarter hours away from Auckland, for just $550,000. "You get a quarter acre with a typical Kiwi bach and water access to a sandy beach. It’s like Whitianga 10 years ago. It’s just amazing."

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