Former golf course sections a fairway off their original values
With prices at 25 per cent of their original level, bare sections at The Poplars subdivision in Kinloch are being
marketed toward lifestyle owners.
Residential sections bordering what was formerly zoned to be a nine hole Jack Nicholas-designed golf course as part of
the Kinloch links near Taupo have been placed up sale – with prices at just 25 percent of their levels heading into the
peak of the property market.
The 54 site subdivision adjacent to the prestigious Kinloch Golf Course overlooking Lake Taupo was originally designed
to be built around nine of the facility’s 27 holes designed by golfing legend Jack Nicklaus. The subdivision had been
developed under the name Links Nine.
However, when course developer Kinloch Golf Resort Ltd went into receivership in 2007, sales of the sections ceased. The
sections and land for the Links Nine course were bought out of receivership by FE Kinloch Ltd which has spent the
subsequent year preparing the titles for sale, and removing the titles from the original Kinloch Golf Resort owner’s
association. The company is now focusing attention on selling down the totally unrelated sections.
The new subdivision is named The Poplars. Plots at The Poplars range in size from 1771 square metres to 2692 square
metres, and vary in price from $120,000 to $160,000. When first released to the market in 2005, the same sections in
what is now known as The Poplars subdivision were offered for sale at up to $650,000.
The sites are being marketed by Bayleys Taupo. Salesperson Helen Webb said the massive price reductions were indicative
of a frenzied market in the mid-2000s, but also now reflected a truer indication of their value in a more subdued and
circumspect economic climate.
“When these sections were first brought to the market, they were being sold as part of the international golf course –
so they came with membership packages and affiliations to the course’s hospitality venues which would have been a huge
yearly cost to owners. Now, the sections within The Poplars, and the golf course with its amenities, are totally
separate entities,” Ms Webb said.
“As such, the land is being sold simply for what it is - land. Similarly, as the golf course is now totally unrelated to
the subdivision, the previously restrictive building covenants no longer apply to houses planned within The Poplars.
“To the best of my knowledge, there are certainly no similarly sized bare land blocks for sale in Taupo Central for
anywhere near $120,000.”
The 54 sections are entwined around what was supposed to be a nine hole par three course, available as an adjunct to the
main 18 hole course. Initial landscaping work was undertaken, although the holes and greens were never fully developed
through to a playable state.
For the last three years, the undeveloped golf course land had been leased to a local farmer for grazing livestock. The
roading infrastructure servicing the subdivision has been maintained to preserve the integrity of the underground
utilities installed in preparation for residential building to begin and is in a brand new state.
Ms Webb said the land assigned to the golf holes would be retained by FE Kinloch Ltd – with the potential to either
further develop the contoured landscape into 13 large two-hectare plots, or to vest the land in perpetuity to the
residents association which would ultimately oversee dwellings in The Poplars subdivision.
In line with the new pricing valuations on the sections, former building covenants stringently dictating dwelling size
and construction and also design of homes have also been removed from The Poplars sections being sold.
New covenants specify that any homes constructed within The Poplars must be at least 150 square metres in size including
the garage, must be ‘new’ builds, and that sections can not be subdivided to allow for minor dwellings to be erected.
Ms Webb said that feedback from prospective section buyers who had viewed the subdivision over the past month was that
new-built homes were “an absolute given” and that many people envisaged building homes of at least 180 – 200 square
metres.
ends