The cheapest homes in NZ's most expensive suburbs

Champagne taste on a beer budget is still possible in New Zealand. OneRoof went hunting for bargain basement properties on millionaire miles in the country’s most sought after locations ranging from Herne Bay in Auckland to Queenstown.

Whether it’s Wellington’s Oriental Bay, or the much sought-after Fendalton, in Christchurch, it’s possible to get a foot on the property ladder for less than $1 million.

Surprisingly, the home, probably the lowest priced on the market, in Auckland’s swanky Herne Bay has been on the market since September. The 32sqm, 1960s one-bedroom unit at 3/25 Wallace Street has it all. Perfect location between Herne Bay’s shops and restaurants at the top of the road and the beach at the bottom. It may be small, but has a private patio that’s almost the size of the entire unit, says Barfoot & Thompson agent Carl Madsen.

“You’ve got all the cafes. You’ve got the new Countdown Metro. You’ve got all the transport, and you’ve got the beach right down the end of the road,” says Madsen. “And it’s Herne Bay and there’s an intangible value associated with that.”

The main reason it hasn’t sold, says Madsen, is that investors are thin on the ground in the current market and the small size of the unit means banks are asking for a high deposit, which locks many first-home buyers out. Having said that, Madsen has had a number of interested parties.

“The main interest is really coming from people who live out of Auckland or even overseas, and they’re looking to use the place as a bolthole for six months on, six months off.”

Madsen has previously sold units 1, 3, 4, 5, and 6, in the complex and says most buyers are investors. One was sold to an owner-occupier who splits her time between France and Herne Bay.

Should an investor buy, says Madsen, the units tend to attract a good level of tenants. The current tenant in the unit he is selling is the maître d’ at one of Auckland’s top restaurants situated very nearby and would stay on as a tenant if he could.

An upstairs unit in the complex sold for $760,000 on October 2 this year, although at 46sqm it was larger and had views.

Buyers at the bottom end in Auckland’s Remuera also get change from $1m. One such property at 1A/18 Joseph Banks Terrace, in the 23-unit Gifford Apartments, is a one-bedroom 61sqm pad. Listed for sale in October, it comes with a shared tennis court and swimming pool.

The one-bedroom apartment at 1A/18 Joseph Banks Terrace, in Remuera, Auckland, has shared use of tennis court and pool. Photo / Supplied

3/93 Abbotts Way, in Remuera, Auckland, is being pitched as an affordable starter home. Photo / Supplied

The apartment is a 30-second walk from New Market train station, says Ray White agent Tanya Kwasza, and also walking distance to Westfield Newmarket. It was built in 1996, which will be a red flag for some buyers, but Kwasza points out that it is concrete construction.

“It has a carpark. It’s very safe for a single person with a swipe card entry and it’s really quiet,” she says. Being immediately beside the stations the trains are much quieter than they are at other points on the train line, she says.

The owner is looking to achieve near to the CV of $920,000 as a sale price for the double grammar zone property, says Kwasza.

Homes in Remuera do come up for sale for less. A one-bedroom unit at 3/93 Abbotts Way, with a CV of $680,000, went to auction on December 14, but there were no bids. Unlike the Joseph Banks Terrace apartment, the Abbotts Way unit is outside of the double grammar zone.

There is often a catch with lower-priced properties in top suburbs. They may be leasehold, leaky, or face a number of other issues. Or for whatever reason it may not be possible to get a mortgage on them, which restricts the market to cash-only buyers.

That’s the case with a $1m apartment at 5A/274 Oriental Parade, in Wellington's Oriental Bay, which is listed for buyer enquiry over $785,000.

The catch with the modernist style apartment, completed in 1960, is in order to buy this pad on millionaire’s mile the buyer will need cash or at least a 75% deposit. “It is a company share apartment,” says Harcourts agent Jane Park. “That means the banks are unlikely to lend on it [although] there are a couple that will lend up to 25%. So you need to be fairly cashed-up,” says Park. Yearly levies are $19,435.88 and include rates, maintenance, heating and insurance.

“The beauty of the building is that it is located so close to the Oriental Bay promenade with no steps to access the street,” she says. “I have sold many apartments in Wellington City and this feature is quite unique. For anyone who wants to live close to the city or Oriental Bay but may not be able to use steps, then the easy flat foyer access to parking or the bay is very functional.” Park adds that being company share, the apartments can’t be rented out.

Head south to Christchurch’s much sought-after and fought-over suburb of Fendalton, and one of the cheapest homes on the market is in a 1940s townhouse block.

This two-bedroom apartment at 5a/274 Oriental Parade, in Oriental Bay, Wellington, is looking for buyers with more than $785,000 to spend. Photo / Supplied

A three-bedroom townhouse at 2/77 Totara Street, in Fendalton, Christchurch, is on the market as a "must sell". Photo / Supplied

The three-bedroom home at 2/77 Totara Street, in Fendalton, is on a cross-lease site that backs onto Dean’s Bush and has a 2019 RV of $455,000.

The property is double-glazed, has a heat pump and the building was reclad in recent years, with the listing agent, Ray White’s Matt Van Rensburg, noting that it’s a stone’s throw from the popular Farmers’ Market at Riccarton Bush, and near the Fendalton Mall.

Fellow Ray White agent Bronwyn Williams says that property prices in Fendalton have come back more than some other areas in Christchurch such as St Albans and Avonhead but noted that it’s still rare to find a property in the suburb for under $1.1m.

She adds that as-is-where-is properties that haven’t had their earthquake repairs done can be bought at a significantly lower level than an equivalent home, but won’t have insurance.

Entry level in Queenstown for a home to be lived in full time or let to tenants is something like 255B Fernhill Road, in Sunshine Bay, which is on the market for $595,000 with Colliers’ Zach Hylton.

It’s more townhouse than apartment, being split over two floors. The concrete block and weatherboard home has a rateable value of $550,000 dated September 2021. Properties at that price point are rare in Queenstown.

It comes with lake views, although to be fair, says Hylton. “Here in Queenstown it can be pretty hard not to find a view,” he says.

“What you are getting isn’t much, two bedrooms in a 1970s triplex, you are still only about a four-minute drive to the CBD, and have pretty awesome views.

“In a property like this, I imagine circa $70K [renovation budget] would go a long way. Once you add some shine to it, you have a very convenient lock-and-leave with great views for under $700k.”

Hylton says he has fielded interest from first-home buyers and also two local first-time investors. A number of parents have looked at the property on behalf of their offspring. “There's a bit of a barrier between what your first-home buyers can afford and what they want to buy. Parents have been coming in [to] vet it first.”

The lack of a body corporate has appealed to the first-time investors, says Hylton. “I’ve also had a few out-of-towners come through to look at it as a holiday home for themselves because of the proximity to town and the views. Realistically they realise that it’s very entry level. If you’re holidaying, you want something a little nicer.”

The rear townhouse has recently been bought by first-home buyers, says Hylton, and the front one has a long-term tenant.