The vibe is back: Parnell is suddenly running hot with younger buyers and expats

Any listing for a Parnell property will undoubtedly highlight its enviable double Grammar zone location – but more recently agents are noticing the central suburb in becoming popular for its café and restaurant vibe too.

At the end of last year Ray White Parnell agent Steve Stone sold a property to a younger couple wanting to move into the area solely for the lifestyle.

And this year he’s also been fielding calls from overseas buyers in places such as the US and the UK who looking to move to New Zealand and have decided Parnell is where they want to be.

“I’ve always felt like Parnell has been the poor cousin to the other side like Herne Bay, but I think it’s got so much more to offer than Herne Bay.”

Stone said being in zone for both Auckland Boys and Epsom Girls Grammar has always been a big drawcard for people wanting to buy in Parnell – but its café and restaurant vibe also had pulling power now too.

“The vibe has really come back to it, which is pretty cool.

“We just went down to meet someone at a café down the road and there are people everywhere. It’s actually quite busy and all the cafes are going well, the restaurants are going well.”

Although it’s just down the road from neighbouring Remuera, Stone said they offered a different mix and in general Parnell homes have less land.

“It’s a bit like Herne Bay, if you get anything that’s over 500sqm that’s a big piece of land for Parnell so it’s less young families I suppose maybe – maybe they head for Remuera more, I don’t know.”

Pasture, on Parnell Road. It is one of several hotspots in the suburb. Photo / Rebecca Zephyr Thomas

Ray White Remuera salesperson Ben Ryken said in the last few years Parnell village has really lifted, and there are beautiful restaurants such as Jerome and Pasture without the fine dining price tags.

“The demographic of age in Parnell is getting younger. Expats are coming back to New Zealand and are wanting a fast-paced lifestyle they are used to from where they’ve come from whether that be in London or Asia.

“You’ve got good schooling so they are set-up for their family and they’ve got busy, fast-paced environment of a long strip being the Parnell Rise of good cafes, restaurants and bars.”

UP Real Estate salesperson Myles Cleave said the shops and cafes is one of the reasons people like the area, but it is definitely not the only reason.

“I’m not sure I would 100% agree with the statement that people are moving in just for the café scene. Parnell has always been a hotly-contested area – not a lot of property comes up for sale in Parnell so when the good stuff becomes available it’s always pretty highly sought after. Grammar zone is certainly a draw for people and just its proximity to the city.”

Cleave recently sold a Gladstone Road apartment to a woman who lived locally, but wanted to downsize and loved the fact it was across the road from the famed Rosie Café.

“Part of the reason she bought that is because she knows the area well and liked the fact that it was across the road from the café and the butcher and fish and chip shop – all of what’s there in that little Gladstone Road shopping area so it appealed to her to get a lock-up-and-leave close by to that.”

They are also selling another apartment at 45 Gladstone Road with an asking price of $2.65 million, which would also appeal to someone looking to downsize.

While a lot of people want to move to Parnell, Cleave said those who actually end up buying in the area are usually locals.

This three-bedroom apartment on Gladstone Road, in Parnell, Auckland, recently sold to a downsizer in the area. Photo / Supplied

“Often who we are finding who are buying these properties are actually local Parnell people or close by from Remuera or maybe the other side of town wanting to get into the Grammar zone. But a lot of the time Parnell people buy the Parnell properties – it's quite a tightly held little nook.”

Bayleys Remuera agent David Rainbow said it often comes down to personal preference because while some people prefer a quieter location like near the bottom of St Stephens Avenue others liked having everything at their doorstep.

He recently had an elderly couple view a three-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment at Oakridge that he was selling and said they liked how central to Newmarket it is.

“... the thing they like is being able to walk to the movies, to the supermarket, to the train to go downtown – and everything is at your doorstep, but some people don’t like that,” Rainbow said.

“Every location suits somebody different at a different stage.”

UP Real Estate director Barry Thom agrees it is too hard to point to just one reason why people were currently buying in Parnell.

“Cafes have been in Parnell since forever, sure a café culture is a big thing now, but I’m not sure we could say it’s the specific reason people buy into Parnell,” he said.

“I think really with transport being the way it is, Parnell is just so brilliantly convenient for everything – be it shops, cafes, walk in the domain and top schools – Grammar zone and just moments from the city.”