At one time in New Zealand’s history Oamaru was the poorest town in the land, says Stephen Robertson, principal and franchise owner of LJ Hooker.
While those days are past, North Otago’s biggest town is still one of the most affordable in the country, and is now known as the steampunk capital of the world.
Robertson says the affordability is attracting newcomers with out-of-town inquiry up from 20% to 40%.
“Our median house price is $465,000 and unless you’re going to go to Greymouth and live on the West Coast we’re probably one of the most affordable regions.”
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There’s a lot of rural employment and plenty of quirkiness and history in Oamaru, which is on the coast about an hour-and-a-half north of Dunedin.
“We’re very lucky, we’ve got a lot of Victorian grandeur,” says Robertson.
“Oamaru was designed around San Francisco and when the first settlers came to Oamaru – my great, great, great grandfather was one of the first Europeans in 1860 into Oamaru – they came with the view of setting up the harbour as the main South Island port for grain, wool and lamb.”
Famous British architects like Thomas Forrester, who designed much of the Victorian architecture, came to the town, but the harbour itself was a failure, Robertson says.
“Lots of shipwrecks and at one stage the town in the late 1800s was the most in-debt town in New Zealand – it over-capitalised and we were the poorest people in New Zealand.”
Fortunately, the old buildings were not bulldozed and about 25 years ago a trust set about restoring them.
New residents and loving it: Martin Horspool and Wendy Jones have set up a new business in Oamaru's Victorian quarter. Photo / Ashley Smyth, Oamaru Mail
“The history has been revived and the historic precinct come alive again. People come for that. They come here to live here and set up their businesses and that.”
LJ Hooker recently sold a grand Victorian villa to new residents from Auckland, Martin Horspool and Wendy Jones, who sold their house in Titirangi for $1.6 million and bought Hull Street for $775,000.
Horspool, known as Robot Man, has set up a business in the Victorian quarter – he makes model robots and artwork out of household items – and says the couple are still pinching themselves.
Oamaru had been on their radar for about 15 years but it wasn’t until the couple came on holiday in March that they fell in love with the town again.
Auckland money goes a long way in Oamaru, Horspool says.
“We’ve got one of the best houses in the whole of the town to be honest. People here think it’s bloody expensive but people in Auckland, they say ‘Oh my God, that’s so cheap’.”
The house has sea and mountain views, and Horspool thinks it would fetch several million dollars if it were in Auckland.
“It’s a beautiful Grey Lynn-style villa. It’s been renovated totally.”
There aren’t many homes of this stature on the market in Oamaru, though, he says, and the couple feel fortunate to have been able to buy this one.
“We met people here, they are still waiting for something to turn up and they’re renting, and I’ve got friends in Auckland that we bumped into last weekend and they’ve been looking at the real estate down here for months, waiting.”
Oamaru is home to a beautiful harbour and a wealth of Victorian architecture. Photo / Getty Images
Relocating has meant being able to relocate the business, too, which was part of Horspool’s dream.
“We’ve been pondering the dream for many years wondering where we could go. When we came down here in March we thought, ah, this is it, a Eureka moment.”
The couple, who are to feature in the TV series Country House Hunters early next year, have no regrets, although Horspool says Oamaru is definitely colder than Auckland.
“Everybody instead of buying three metres of wood (for the fire) buy like 20 metres of wood.”
Robertson says he sold another house, at Awamoa Road, to more Aucklanders this year, but this couple had been driving through town in a camper van.
“They had rented their house out in Auckland, they jumped in their big camper van and they were touring New Zealand and they fell in love with Oamaru.
“They came to my open home and they just said ‘my God, we love this house’ and they went away and they came back and said ‘we want to buy it’.”
Robertson says the influx of out-of-towners has seen the higher end market move, saying some people move to the town for the quirkiness, the historic buildings and heritage while others come for the lifestyle because a hectare of land can still be picked up for a few hundred thousand dollars.
The Waitaki Valley has a dam system with recreational lakes and hydro dams, and ski fields are not far away either. There’s also development beginning on the outskirts of town, Robertson says.
“We're spreading out. The average price section is probably between $185,000 and $200,000, though you can still find a section for $165,000 fully serviced, so, again, it’s that affordability.”
