Coastal South Head property with identified future options

A 323-hectare farm on the southern fringes of the Kaipara Harbour on Auckland’s west coast is being offered to the open market for the first time having been part of an original family landholding dating back to the late-1800s.

Located 90 kilometres from Auckland’s CBD at 3580 South Head Road, South Head, Rodney, the property boasts 1.2 kilometres of coastal harbour frontage and bounds Woodhill/Muriwai forest.

Currently supporting a viable farming business, the property is carrying 480 head of stock, operates as a heifer finishing unit, and has a productive maize cropping component supplying New Zealand Starch.

John Greenwood and Layne Harwood of Bayleys Auckland Central say the property is available for sale as one block of 323 hectares, with the purchaser receiving the benefit of an existing Resource Consent to create three separate titles of around 100 hectares each which would expand future ownership options.

Alternatively, the vendor may consider completing the proposed subdivision and selling the resulting
100-hectare lots.

The agents are calling for expressions of interest on the property – either as a single landholding, or as individual lots in line with the conditions of the Resource Consent – closing 4pm, Thursday 12th March.

“Given the coastal location, the privacy, and the roughly 75-minute drive to the heart of Auckland city, we expect motivated interest from high-net worth individuals, family trusts and farming entities,” says Greenwood.

“It is a hero property and there is proven demand for rural land with split-title options.”

Greenwood says a property of this size – with the opportunity to portion into three separate titles and with identified building sites – allows investment flexibility and potential for inter-generational ownership.

In terms of value, he says recent transactional data would suggest that land of this quality and nature could expect to reach $20,000-plus per hectare.

“The rateable value for 3580 South Head Road is $5.3 million and in today’s market I believe we could tangibly expect to see a sale price well north of this figure.

“That’s something for the sales process to determine.”

With interest rates at historically-low levels and other property investment options becoming more
compliance-heavy, Harwood says land is an appealing long-term alternative.

“Land is a comparatively simple investment proposition,” he says.

“With the farm operating as a productive unit, a new owner could effectively put a drystock farmer onto the property, keep up the maize growing and then the land will essentially ‘wash its own face’,” he explains.

“Over time, land values will escalate and where South Head may once have been seen as fairly remote, advances in infrastructure and the ongoing desire for rural-lifestyle property should future-proof the property’s intrinsic value.”

Under the Auckland Unitary Plan, the sizeable property is zoned Rural Coastal Zone – Kaipara South Head and Harbour Coastal Overlay.

Greenwood says there is plenty of evidence to show that land such as this has inherent value for high-net wealth individuals and trusts.

“For many, it’s enough simply to own a coastal farm without needing to cut it up and see a tangible return in the medium term,” he says.

“However, over time, the value of the land asset will escalate, zonings could change and that’s where the opportunity for intergenerational apportionment or other options comes into play.”

Greenwood says strong demand for rural-lifestyle properties has seen many former coastal farms morph into smaller lots – some with a farm park model of ownership offering communal amenities and common land areas.

“Fifteen years ago the successful Tupare Peninsula farm park development, with shared equestrian facilities, paved the way for new ownership structures for land in the South Head area and other subsequent lifestyle block developments have validated this demand.”

In its current guise, the farm supports a high standard of farm infrastructure and a tastefully upgraded character homestead. The property has the added bonus of recreational hunting opportunities, and will also appeal to horse riders and golfers, with the South Head Golf Club nearby.

The land is of generally undulating contour, with large contiguous flat areas suitable for the cropping operation, along with established pines, areas of native bush and wetlands.

The property also features several prominent knolls – some of which are documented archaeological sites associated with the local iwi, Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara.

The farm is located 40 minutes north of Helensville – the nearest service town.

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