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It’s rare to be able to buy a freehold property that isn’t actually on land.
But that’s what you get at Opua at the Bay of Islands: two apartments in a boathouse that sit in the water on poles. And the novel value of being able to cast a line from the balcony and fish with your feet up is attracting punters.
Ray White Parnell’s agent Phil Horrobin says he’s been getting a lot of inquiries from both visitors and locals since he conducted a ‘soft launch’ of The Boathouse, as the property is known: “There are people who have seen these apartments for many years , and now that they have seen that they are for sale, they want one. “
“Freehold really requires some explaining, but I think I got it,” says Horrobin. But he says it’s not just the novelty value that draws in: Opua is a “lovely, peaceful place” and a great place to have a vacation home.
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“’Wow’ is pretty much the standard response when you walk past apartments. My wife and I spent a weekend there, and it’s very special when you open the door, walk down the hall, and then ‘bang’ it’s just beautiful. It is one of those [properties] you just want to buy yourself. “
Horrobin says there are fish around the pier, so there’s no reason why you can’t catch something on the deck. “I don’t think there are any marlin out there,” he jokes. “You can fish at the end of the balcony to relax, but if you want dinner, you would probably go to the local fish and chips shop).”
The two luxury apartments have been managed as a 5-star luxury vacation rental, but the agent says that most of the inquiries come from people who want to own their own vacation home. “They are more likely to be personal residences,” he says.
The apartments are available as a package, but can also be sold separately, depending on the interest of the buyer.
Inside, the modern decor reflects a nautical reference, and most rooms in the ground-floor apartment open onto decks. The upper apartment also opens onto a large north-facing terrace.
But potential buyers need a little patience: the apartments are currently rented for a few weeks, so the first open house won’t take place until January 23, 2021.
And the price Horrobin says that it is very difficult to value the properties since there is almost nothing to compare them to, so they will be auctioned on February 11, 2021.