Luxury getaway priced at $8000 week
Holidaymakers are paying nearly $8000 a week for Mount Maunganui rental homes during the Christmas/New Year period.
And even if that price tag doesn't scare you off, it's likely too late to find vacant accommodation. Most campgrounds, apartment buildings and motels are reporting full bookings over the new year.
A search on Book A Bach showed 112 rental properties in Mount Maunganui.
The destination was listed as New Zealand's fourth-most popular behind Hanmer Springs, Taupo and Queenstown.
Of those 112, just one remained available for New Year's Eve. A four-bedroom, three-bathroom property at Omanu Beach was available for $500 per night but required a minimum stay of five nights.
The site's cheapest-ranked home had prices starting at $90 per night. For that, a renter would get a two-bedroom, one-bathroom, single-level, traditional-style bach suitable for four people, close to Bayfair Shopping Mall.
It was priced at $190 per night for the Christmas/New Year period but was booked out.
At the other end of the scale you could rent a luxury four-bedroom, three-bathroom home for $1100 per night or $8000 per week.
The property sits on a beachfront section between Marine Parade and the Omanu Surf Club and has spectacular panoramic views from both floors, which span the main Mount beach down to Maketu.
The owner is understood to be based in Hong Kong.
The popularity of the bach is evident. According to Book A Bach, the luxury home is booked out until the end of January and February and other stretches in later months.
Christmas and New Year were also booked.
A further 239 listings for Mount Maunganui properties are on the Holiday Houses website.
Ross Stanway, chief executive of Realty Services, which operates Bayleys and Eves, said Mount Maunganui held an enduring appeal.
"There's now a much greater range of accommodation. If you go back a few years there were camping grounds and motels.
"But the significant increase in apartments over recent years has opened up more accommodation and some of that is at the top end in terms of prices," Mr Stanway said.
He was aware of homeowners who vacated Mount Maunganui properties during the holiday season to let them out.
"That occurs mostly with some people who own apartments and move out over the holiday period."
