A buyer with a heart is needed for one of the lowest priced homes for sale in New Zealand right now. The two-bedroom property, at 13 Pakington Street, in Westport, has been home to vulnerable tenants for the past 10 years, and the vendor doesn’t want to sell it to buyers who intend to evict them.
The tenants have never missed a single rent payment and treat the place as their home for life, says Property Brokers agent Glenys Elley, who is selling the property on behalf of a colleague.
“For a landlord with a kind heart, they would be the most loyal tenants that you could get. There are never any problems and the tenancy inspections are always spot on.”
The tenancy is managed by Property Brokers, with the home let at market rent. The stumbling block for the sale, says Elley, is that potential buyers are mostly looking for a home to live in themselves.
Start your property search
She says the vendor is selling to finance another project but won’t sell to anyone who is not willing to keep the tenants.
Many of the lowest-priced homes in New Zealand come with a twist. They are often in need of a total renovation or rebuild, are on leasehold land, or have a history of flooding.
As well as run-down homes, former churches and community halls are often on the market at very low prices. One example is 43 Huia Street, in Taihape, Rangitikei, which has been on the market since September 2022 and has an asking price of $200,000.
For sale for $200,000, this two-bedroom property at 43 Huia Street, in Taihape, Rangitikei, is pitched as having potential. Photo / Supplied
The property is a former Anglican Church hall and is located in a well-liked neighbourhood, only a few minutes’ walk from the popular Le Café Téléphonique, in the town’s old telephone exchange. The hall, which has had better days, sits on a 976sqm section, and while it is already plumbed for multiple toilets and bathrooms, turning it into a home will take a lot of work and will require the removal of asbestos.
The listing agent, PGG Wrightson agent Marie Frost, says many of those who have expressed an interest in the property want to add a mezzanine floor for living and use the downstairs for commercial purposes. “One [potential] buyer wanted a big space, which they will never get in Palmy [Palmerston North] at that price.” Another possible buyer considered putting a gallery downstairs and another wanted to run a karate dojo. An offer at the asking price of $200,000 has just been received, Frost says.
When properties are in poor condition, it can be very difficult for buyers to get a mortgage. That restricts the sale to cash buyers, or people with significant deposits. First-home buyers who dream of transforming a run-down home The Block-style are often sorely disappointed.
The listing for 6 Church Street, in Waipawa, Central Hawke's Bay, is "calling all builders". The property has a price tag of $195,000. Photo / Supplied
As well as banks shying away from total do-ups, insurance companies are often unwilling to underwrite home policies, and without them, buyers can’t get mortgages.
This is an issue that buyers might face with a half-built home at 6 Church Street, in Waipawa, Central Hawke’s Bay, which has been left open to the elements and has mould on the framing.
Once completed, however, the home will most likely be worth in the $500,000s, Harcourts agent Heatha Edwards says. The site has seriously good views in a desirable part of town, and the vendor has also completed an eye-catching stone palazzo entertaining area .
Edwards jokingly calls the home “the tree hut”, a reference to the fact that the timber framing is the first thing buyers see. “It’s a quirky little possum,” she says.
The buyers of a run-down home in the former hydro-electric town of Mangakino could have a money-machine on their hands once the property at 11 Totara Terrace is renovated. Short-term rentals are in high demand for water sports events at Lake Maraetai. The lake is a few minutes’ walk from the property.
Mangakino has been going up in the world steadily in the past 20 years, says Bayleys Taupō agent Kaye Beazley, who is selling the home. Most “run-down” leasehold properties in the town have already been renovated or bowled and replaced with relocatable homes.
A three-bedroom leasehold property at 11 Totara Terrace, in Mangakino, Taupō, has an asking price of $120,000. Photo / Supplied
“The majority are bought as holiday homes,” says Beazley. “But in the last few years we have had people buying them as a first home. They travel to Taupō, Tokoroa, Rotorua, or Te Awamutu for work.”
Beazley says the 1940s home is still remarkably solid and is more in need of cosmetic than structural work. It is on the market for $120,000, and while it sits on leasehold land, that could be converted to freehold at the time of purchase for $360,000 or later for an agreed price.
Once renovated, the home would be a candidate for short term rental when the owners aren’t using it. The town has a thriving market for holiday home lets with nearly 30 properties listed on Airbnb, Booking.com, and Bookabach. “People coming for events such as speedboat races, water ski champs or wakeboarding, need somewhere to stay,” says Beazley.
For holiday home buyers another property in a desirable location is a former motel unit at 13/102 Tamamutu Street, in the heart of Taupō. The one-bedroom, one-bathroom, one living area unit has a rateable value of $155,000 and listed for price by negotiation. The block has a shared spa pool.
A one-bedroom unit at 13/102 Tamamutu Street, in Taupō, is for sale by way of price by negotiation. Photo / Supplied
Some of the cheapest homes for sale in New Zealand can be found in western Southland, in towns such as Tuatapere, Nightcaps and Ohai, where there is already a steady trickle of house-price refugees from the bigger centres snapping up bargains.
One of the most affordable buys on the market currently is a quaint cottage at 11 High East Street, in Nightcaps. The home is in better condition than many bargain basement cottages and has established vegetable gardens and fruit trees, says real estate agent Melanie Muldrew of Todd & Co. A bonus is that it’s in walking distance to the local golf club. The ski fields at Queenstown are 155km by road.
A two-bedroom cottage at 11 High East Street, in Nightcaps, Southland, is seeking offers over $170,000. Photo / Supplied
Demolish or rebuild, a two-bedroom at 11 Milton Street, in Ohai, Southland, has a $95,000 price tag. Photo / Supplied
Less liveable now, or maybe a candidate for demolition, says Muldrew, is a property at 11 Milton Street, Ohai. It’s on the market for enquiries over $95,000.
The 1012sqm property that the cottage sits on is one of the few sections in New Zealand of that size priced below $100,000. It even has a view, which is a bonus, says Muldrew. “It has lovely views, although the house is a little less desirable,” she says.
