A Hamilton family on the hunt for a quirky lifestyle property has shelled out $1.16 million for a one-of-a-kind five-bedroom, four-bathroom straw home with no corners and jars embedded into the walls.
It’s at least $100,000 less than the cheapest home currently for sale in Ngahinapouri where lifestyle properties listed on OneRoof are currently asking for anywhere from $1.249m to $1.95m.
The hand-built home, which was insulated by straw bales and covered in lime clay, was listed for sale in April this year and sold eight months later for $230,000 below its $1.39m RV.
Bayleys salesperson Aaron Paterson said a family with three boys had been looking to move from Hamilton to a lifestyle property and the Duncan Road property had ticked all their boxes.
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“They loved the quirkiness and the difference of this house. They loved the community of Ngahinapouri – they had done a bit of homework and really liked everything it had to offer, and it is only 15 minutes to the centre of Hamilton.”
The house sold in November and a quick settlement meant the new owners were settled in their new home in time for Christmas.
The home was insulated with straw bales and the walls were made from lime plaster. Photo / Supplied
“They just plan to live in and enjoy it. Obviously, modernise a few things to their taste, but just changing colours and carpets in a couple of places, but they are largely leaving it as it is.”
The sale also meant the original owners could finally go ahead with their plans to relocate and had already moved to the South Island to be closer to their daughter and young grandchildren.
The owners told OneRoof at the time of listing the property in March that it had been a 14-year labour of love.
The owner, who was a handyman by trade, had wanted to fulfil his dream of creating a unique environmentally-friendly home using natural products.
He spent hours researching materials and finally settled on a technique used in poorer areas in New Mexico where they build houses using straw bales as insulation.
Old Gregg's coffee jars were a feature in the hallway. Photo / Supplied
The straw was then covered with lime plaster using sand sourced from the Duncan Road site. All the walls in the main house were intentionally curved except for one 90-degree corner in the laundry.
“I’m a bit of a sculptor myself and I don’t appreciate anything being square. When it came to the walls, we didn’t want a mirror flat finish, we wanted the feeling that it had just been put together by hand. The whole house is hand-built – it has a hand-built feel,” the owner said.
The couple started building the Duncan Road property, which they described as a living sculpture, in stages starting from the self-contained studio, then a separate living area with a kitchenette above the garage, and finally the main kitchen, lounge, bathroom and master bedroom.
Sentimental touches such as old Gregg’s coffee jars handed down through generations were embedded into the wall in the hallway and coloured glass bottles adorned one side of the entranceway.
More practical features included solar panels and double-glazed joinery to help offset the power costs.
While it was initially built to be their forever home, a change in plans meant selling to move closer to their daughter and young grandchildren.
Paterson said the owners had been happy to accept the offer last November and had already moved to Christchurch.
- Click here to find more properties for sale in Ngahinapouri
