New Zealand has a selection of weird and wonderful listings tucked away down south or up north, and sometimes for prices that seem too good to be true.
The catch is the state of the property, or the lack of services, or the difficult access.
The properties might be inheritances no one wants, or a change in circumstances has led to the sale.
Some properties – like a “bush hut” set in over 48 hectares of lush landscape near Waipu – can barely be seen from the air, let alone have road access.
Start your property search
And yet, there is strong interest, said Ray White agent James Alexander, who is marketing the property with colleague Ashleigh Louise.
Read more:
- Aucklander buys coastal chunk of Great Barrier Island for $10m-plus
- They bought a dump but they're now selling a stunner
- 'Lucky' first-time buyers pick up Wellington masterpiece
Marketed as “the lost world”, the cabin is deep in a valley of outstanding beauty, in “pristine unspoilt bush-clad wilderness” that feels “Jurassic”, the listing said.
Alexander told OneRoof the property represented “absolute seclusion. If you wanted to be a naturalist, this is the place to be one”.
The cabin dates back to 1910 and is changing hands for the first time in more than 50 years. It’s a shack in the wilderness, but a legal one, Alexander understands.
The late owner was a lawyer, and being a lawyer he did things right and got all the consents.
There is a kitchen, power and a toilet, and a system for getting water from the clear, stony stream down below, but the cabin has been abandoned about 15 years now and is in disrepair.
“He bought this years and years ago and just wanted a bush hut as an escape from the world, really, and to get away from busyness.”
Access is by foot via a track through the bush. Though that’s only 30 metres away from the road you’d never know it.
The A-frame cabin, with its green roof, is well camouflaged. Photo / Supplied
The inside of the cabin is simple and rustic. Photo / Supplied
“It’s like a secret thing in the bush,” said Alexander, although it’s not a secret to locals and the cabin has obviously been used for sleepovers at times.
Despite the work needed, Alexander said this listing was getting the most interest out of all his listings with calls nearly every hour, and not from developers.
“It’s people who just want to turn off and have this escape away from the outside world, basically.
“They say ‘we can see this is just the very thing, even though it’s a do-up’.
“They say ‘it doesn’t scare us, we don’t mind putting a bit of elbow grease into it and getting into it, we can see the bigger picture’ – it’s people that want to stay there and enjoy precisely the thing that the guy created all those years ago.”
The hut is not quite bad enough to be pushed over, with its a concrete floor and good native timbers throughout.
The kitchen might be falling apart, and someone stole the hot water cylinder, but there are still some original books there, and some old chairs, and there’s a proper toilet, which is a bonus in a bush shack.
The property goes to tender on May 9 and public feedback on price so far has been around the $400,000 to $500,000 mark, Alexander said.
A 2ha block in Fairdown, Buller, is priced at $189,000 and comes with a makeshift storage shed. Photo / Supplied
Over 1000km away on the West Coast of the South Island another bush property is for sale. The only building this one has is a storage shed used on occasion by the beekeeper vendor to put his head down.
On two hectares, the elevated section with coastal views “draped” in Manuka is 12km north of Westport and has a price tag of $189,000.
Agent Garry Howard, of Property Brokers, said there was “quite a lot” interest in these sorts of properties from cashed-up Kiwis travelling by bus, caravan or motor home who want a place to call their own, rest for a month or two, then they might pack up and travel some more.
Sometimes industries, like beekeeping, struggle and this sort of block finds its way to market.
“Where else do you get two hectares for that sort of money?,” asked Howard.
People who have taken early retirement, or those in their 60s who no longer want to be in suburbia, are attracted to these off-grid locations, and once cashed up from suburbia it can be impossible to break back in with property prices the way they are but people still want to own a bit of New Zealand and have a base.
Plus, there are other attractions: “I’ve got one couple that arrived and they said ‘where else can you walk around naked?’ and I said ‘there’s quite a few gorse bushes, I wouldn’t recommend it’.”
Another large plot of land that comes with a shack, located on Durham Street, in Hampden, Waitaki, is seeking buyers with $95,000-plus to spend. Photo / Supplied
Howard was about to show the property to people from Timaru, on the east coast of the South Island, but people from all over the place had shown interest.
“Most of our interest is from outside the Buller District and it comes from far and wide. We’ve even had phone calls about it from Australia.”
He recently sold a property in tiny Waimangaroa on the West Coast, in old mining country.
While not an abandoned shack, on McGill Street is a little miner’s hut in need of work on a big section below the Denniston incline.
The one-bedroom property sold for $195,000 the day he listed it.
“That there is absolutely typical. It’s a Canterbury purchaser. You can buy something at a very modest price and park up beside it and develop it and do what he wants to do but it’s not costing a fortune and he’s got a lovely little cottage that’s got character.”
This shack on McGill Street, in Waimangaroa, Buller, was billed as an iconic Kiwi bach. It recently sold for $195,000. Photo / Supplied
Howard said the cottage was in a “process of revival” when bought from a person who had been using it as a base while he developed a property further along.
Over the way in Hampden, north of Dunedin, a tiny home can be found on a section for sale for enquiries over $95,000 – the tiny home is extra and can be negotiated.
Pip O’Connell, from Tall Poppy, said there had not been a lot of interest to date but she liked a challenge.
She thinks the owner had vague plans to develop the quarter acre site but had moved out of town and no longer had a use for it.
“It sits beautifully to the northwest and it does have a lovely semi-rural view,” O’Connell said.
But it doesn’t have services and Hampden – a “groovy” little town – has a few sections for sale currently.
“It’s growing, it’s a very strong community. It’s close to the beautiful Hampden Beach, it’s got a really great supermarket, it’s got a community pub, if you want to join a club or something, there’s a diverse range of people.”
All the agents spoken to said they liked a challenge, including Paul Murray, the Property Brokers agent selling a “munted” house in Seddonville on the West Coast where the boundary runs through the middle of the house.
The house has an offer on it from a Californian “surfer dude” who is also a carpenter, and Murray told OneRoof nothing was insurmountable.
People like these sorts of houses that, with some time and effort and practical skills, can make good capital gain.
He knew what he was taking on when he took on the listing, but said it was fun finding the right buyer for a property, and people with the skills and temerity to renovate a property like the Seddonville one can help lift a whole area.
- Click here to find more properties for sale
