Open home; the kiwi towns that offer ‘best balance between the good life and a buy life’

Each week, we bring you our favourite open homes to hit up in a town or suburb near you. This week, our focus is on the Bay of Plenty’s coastal cities, Tauranga and Whakatāne. Whether you’re eager to buy, or simply a perpetual property peruser, you’ll find an open home worth taking a peek at here each Saturday morning.

The coastal cities of the Bay of Plenty have a bit of a reputation. They’re lifestyle havens, close to the sea, the rivers, and the bush of a particularly lush subtropical region, but also thriving with agricultural and tourism industries.

"I've been here my whole life," says Bower Real Estate agent Hunter Cheetham. "For me, I think Tauranga has the best balance between living a busy life, but still living a good life.

“We've got the beaches and the golf courses - all that sort of thing, but we're still very much a city."

Epitomising this work-life balance is 184 Oceanbeach Rd, Mount Maunganui, which is listed with Cheetham and his colleague Brent Bastin.