The once humble Kiwi bach could soon be little more than a historical relic of times past as property values in yet another popular Auckland beachside suburb ticks over the $1m mark.
Already property in the majority of beach suburbs near Auckland have median values over $1m. The latest to join the club is Piha - a popular west coast surfing beach with a permanent population of about 600.
QV's latest Property Report shows the beachside suburb's estimated median value rose by $33,903 (2.3 per cent) since the end of September to $1,005,750 in January.
It's joined places such as Onetangi ($1.25m) and Oneroa ($1.25m) on Waiheke and Omaha ($1.5m) an hour or so north of Auckland, along with a number of other popular holiday spots at the top end of the property ladder.
QV National Spokesperson, Andrea Rush said, the growth in beachside areas was pushing the price of a bach into the unaffordable bracket.
"For those who are not already in the market an ever-increasing number of New Zealanders will now find these locations unaffordable and the dream of owning a bach in these locations is likely to remain just a dream for many."
The Kiwi bach, described by the Encyclopaedia of New Zealand as a "humble dwelling with the marks of a home handyman and painted in bright colours" has become a less frequent sight.
Tighter building standards and the growing numbers aspiring to buy a coastal property has filled the landscape with more of the luxurious brand of holiday home.
The latest QV figures showed property in less than a handful of beachside suburbs were valued at less than a million dollars. Most of were on the outskirts of the Supercity.
Snells Beach with a median value of $758,150 is over an hour to the north of Auckland near Warkworth, while Clarks Beach, with a median value of $742,650, is 40 minutes to the south.
On TradeMe around a hundred bach-like properties were listed for sale in the Auckland region.
However, among a handful of more "affordable" baches in the area there were many that appeared less "humble" holiday home and more beachside luxury escape.
First National chief executive Bob Brereton said coastal areas outside of Auckland would be experiencing a "bounce in interest" as a result.
"That's where people will be looking for a bach," he said. "Piha is within commutable distance, so it's no longer a beachside retreat, it's simply a suburb."
Brereton said once people began moving into these areas and treating them as a place to live and not just visit, the demographics of the area changed and the prices too.
"Once the masses move in and start treating them as somewhere to live, you are going to get that lift in the entire area."
Auckland's holiday hot-spots
Omaha: $1.5m
Oneroa: $1.25m
Onetangi: $1.25m
Piha: $1.01m
Orewa: $901,900