In what is believed to be a first for the real estate sector in one of New Zealand’s most prosperous seaside towns, a self-confessed TradeMe addict is selling his residential section with a consented car garage with adjoining utility space, four storage rooms, and a fully plumbed bathroom by auction… with just a $1 reserve.

Up for offer from the first $1 auction bid as an entry-level opportunity onto Whitianga’s property ladder - comprising a garage featuring four carpet tiled storage rooms, a laundry, and a separate bathroom, is in the prosperous - sitting on a flat 501-square metre fully fenced section in Carina Way just a short stroll to Buffalo Beach. The garage interior is fully insulated and is heated and cooled by a ventilation system and heat pump.

The $1 reserve for the property has been signed as part of the legally-binding marketing contract - meaning that once the opening bid is recorded, the property will be sold under the hammer to the highest bidder, whatever the price.

A paved courtyard, outdoor entertaining area and walkway run down one side of the garage, with pergola beams in place ready for the installation of a patio sunshade, louvered roof, or cabana-style thatched covering.

The vendors, long-time Whitianga locals who previously lived just a few hundred metres from Carina Way, developed the garage structure with the intention of sharing it with friends and relatives visiting them over the summer and holiday periods. They had also originally planned to utilise the garage for storing some of their ‘big boys’ toys’.

The vendor, a self-confessed TradeMe addict and mobile crane company owner, had even calculated how simple and efficient it would be to shift portable cabins or tiny homes onto the section, and installed a double-width gate leading onto the lawn for that purpose. However, when the vendor’s wife announced she wanted to ride horses on an equestrian lifestyle block in the rural countryside, the couple sold their personal home and moved to Taupō.

“I’m a regular user of TradeMe for buying and selling bits and pieces like furniture, cars, trucks, earth-moving machinery, and sporting goods, so the idea of running a $1 reserve auction for the Whitianga garage and section was a pretty straightforward choice to run with”, said the vendor, who has sold a multitude of items on TradeMe with $1 reserves, both for himself and his mates for fun.

“It’s about trusting a totally transparent process where buyers will see value with what’s being offered, and at the end of the day, the market will set the price.” Surrounded by an established neighbourhood of single-level dwellings, the flat freehold section and consented garage building at 5 Carina Way in Whitianga are now being marketed for sale at auction on October 30th through Bayleys Whitianga. Salesperson Belinda Sammons said the 90-square metre garage structure was being clearly marketed as “not intended for sleeping.” “However, what any new owner does with the building is completely up to them. It’s obvious to see how the turn-key building could easily function as the communal living hub of a wider residential property,” Sammons said.

“For example, the undeveloped grassed lawn portion of the section is a veritable blank canvas for any new owner. Harking back to the bygone Kiwiana era when several extended families would camp side by side on one section, the easy-care rectangular site could sustain the co-existence of multiple large family tents, caravans, or mobile homes, or could just as easily accommodate several converted shipping containers living spaces.

“Sustaining the campsite living portion, the storage rooms within the existing garage could be utilised for the likes of rumpus rooms, living areas, TV room, or an office.

“Alternatively, the Carina Way section could amply accommodate a new residential dwelling, subject to council building consents. There are already several relocatable homes which have been moved onto sections in the neighbourhood,” said Sammons.

“The family-friendly cul-de-sac enclave surrounding Carina Way is very much a destination for ‘affordable’ home buyers - either for holiday homes, or for cost-effective permanent occupation by those coming to Whitianga to enjoy the town’s seaside lifestyle and employment opportunities.”

Whitianga is the Coromandel Peninsula’s eastern seaboard’s biggest town and is highlighted in the Thames Coromandel District Council’s 2020-2030 Community Plan as being one of the fastest growing towns within its greater administrative area.

Residential development in the town has boomed over the past decade - largely underpinned by the construction of hundreds of multi-million-dollar luxury homes across the high-end Whitianga Waterways precinct, where many residences have their own private jetties and boat ramps at the edge of the back lawn.

Taking advantage of year-round access to the fish-filled ocean directly off Buffalo Beach, Whitianga now annually hosts one of the most lucrative and internationally renowned big game fishing events in the world, the Kubota Billfish Classic, which was held in March. Competitors in this year’s tournament were buoyed by a prize pool of up to $1.7million, including a $400,000 cheque for the heaviest billfish landed.

The Carina Road property up for auction is just a few hundred metres away from the waterways and some 1.5 kilometres from Whitianga’s colourful hospitality strip of waterfront cafes, bars, and restaurants.