Gracey Glover never expected a summer of fun with friends to end up with her being able to afford a home of her own.

Although she hoped it would – Gracey entered the Long White Win a Bach competition, which asked people to share snaps of themselves enjoying summer with friends online or via Instagram.

Even though the winner was chosen at random, Gracey entered a photo on Instagram nearly every day for the 120 days the competition ran.

Winner Gracey receives a $500,000 contribution towards a bach and initially was going to wait until she moved to Tauranga before buying, but she's looking at open homes in the Mount this weekend.

'I've been looking all summer because all summer have been posting photos and dreaming of what I would do with the money.”

The Aucklander has wanted to move to Tauranga for a few years but the timing was never right and now she has the perfect opportunity to relocate with the insurance company she works for. She had been working for them casually but got the opportunity for a permanent position in their Tauranga office.

The determined 30-year-old wants to be here because she loves the beach, but also because the area is well-known for its horticulture so she's really looking forward to gardening and getting outside.

She plans to make the move in the next few weeks and says if the homes she's looking at this weekend aren't right she'll stick with her original plan of getting settled and then seeing what's out there.

'I thought I would be years away from the property market but this is just the best thing I could have ever hoped for.

'I can move down and potentially own and live in my own home.”

'Spending time in a bach is all about creating memories ... I can't believe I will have my very own place to do this with friends.”

Gracey says one of the coolest parts of winning is the reactions and support she's had from friends and family.

'Seeing all their outpouring of support, it's been really humbling as well.”

GM of marketing for Long White beverages Oliver Downs, says the bach promotion was launched to celebrate the good times we have with friends, which have been significantly impacted by the pandemic.

'We wanted to be able to create a Bach experience for one of our loyal customers, giving them the opportunity to have a place they could share with friends and create lasting memories,” he says.