Beach front on remote Matakana Island selling for less than $1 million

A unique island retreat with links to Australia has hit the market across the Tasman.

The block of land on Matakana Island, in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand, is selling for $NZ1 million or $900,000.

The undisturbed parcel is the perfect spot for a dream home set back from the vacant 560m stretch of deserted sand or a series of cabins along the foreshore.

“I’ve had all sorts of interest – Kiwis coming home, movie producers, some very famous people. They’ve all been looking to buy a piece of paradise,” PGG Wrightson agent Andrew Fowler said.

Fowler declined to reveal the names of the high-profile interested parties, though did share parts of the history of the island and the type of property a new buyer could build.

“What I would tend to do, though, is to build maybe some cabins that aren’t consented and have them on the foreshore, so have them looking at the sand and the beach as well as the water,” he said.

As well as owning the sand, there are forestry rights on the land on the mature trees. The tree will be harvested and replanted at the end of 2025.

The forest has a rich international history, with the Australian government a former owner. 

Fowler told One Roof the main road down the middle of the island was once named the Hume Highway after the road between Melbourne and Sydney.

“The land is given to you with a young forest on it and they grow up and then you will decide to probably sell the rights to that first, probably to Blakely Pacific who owns the rest of the forestry right on the island and then they will pay you each year, or a lump sum, and harvest them in 20 years and you’ll get the opportunity to do it again,” he said.

Income for the forest is estimated to be around NZ$800,000 about $720,000.

Riparian rights come with the property, meaning the buyer would own the land to the high tide mark. 

The island has two entrances, Bowentown at the north end and the Mount Maunganui main shipping lane at the southern end.

A legal easement also exists from the harbour to the ocean and south to the barge and jetty.