Easy commute, fewer people a Diamond Harbour drawcard

It's a picturesque escape for people looking to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

Now, the summer baches which dotted the scenic clifftops and rolling hills of Diamond Harbour are giving way to permanent homes and a booming population.

Felicity and Bert van der Lee moved to the town from Tauranga.

"I love its tranquillity and also the community here is really welcoming," Felicity said.

"The North Island was getting very expensive and it's enabled us to live a better life and do what we want to do."

Diamond Harbour and its surrounding bays — including Charteris, Church and Purau — are home to just over 1600 people.

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That figure is expected to jump by almost 10% in the next decade — three times more than Christchurch.

Min Sarginson Real Estate's Tim Dunningham said people "can buy a really nice house for the price of a section in Auckland and that's end of story, really".

The easy commute and fewer people are also a drawcard, he said.

Forty new builds have been granted consent in the past two years.

"It's gone through the ups and downs of the economy and now it's starting to fill up with a whole lot of beautiful homes," Min Sarginson Real Estate's Kate Hitchings said.

Another proposed subdivision could see more than 100 homes built as more people decide to make their little slice of paradise permanent.