- A classical house in Waimakariri sold for a record price to Australian buyers.
- The sale exceeded the previous $3.7m record, but the exact price wasn’t disclosed.
- Waimakariri is gaining interest for its accessibility and value compared to Christchurch suburbs.
A striking classical house in Waimakariri, Canterbury, has sold for a record amount.
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Australian buyers who had recently relocated to New Zealand beat locals to the Ohoka home, which was designed by the owners, architect David McKay and interior designer Robyn Bascand.
Rosa Carter, general manager of New Zealand Sotheby’s International Realty in Christchurch, declined to reveal the sale price for the Whites Road property but confirmed it had smashed the town’s previous record of $3.7 million for a property on Threlkelds Road.
McKay and Bascand’s home first hit the market in 2023 with a different agency and had at one point a price tag of $4.499m – well above its RV of $3.3m.
The glass-wrapped entry hall to the Whites Road house looks into a sheltered dining courtyard. Photo / Supplied
The three-bedroom, three-bathroom architecturally-designed home sits on a 2ha site in a gated community. Photo / Supplied
Carter said all of the offers she took to the vendors were from buyers outside Christchurch. “For them, they could see that it’s 15 minutes from the airport and 20 to 25 minutes from the city – it’s close.”
She said Waimakariri was seen by many as a more accessible location for commuting into central Christchurch than some Christchurch suburbs, she said.
“Christchurch people, in my opinion, are only just starting to cotton to the fact that the [Northern Motorway] changes everything.”
Carter told OneRoof that Christchurch buyers had raved to her about “good bang for their buck” they could get in Ohoka.
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“They were like, ‘We can get amazing houses with a decent amount of land and privacy, but still easy commuting’. So, it’s just sort of coming on the radar as an alternative to suburbia,” she said.
“It’s the same distance as Sumner or Scarborough. I know a few buyers who are currently looking at Scarborough or Ohoka.”
Both offered lifestyle opportunities and quality modern homes.
Harcourts Four Seasons owner James Twiss had also seen an uptick in interest in Ohoka and other towns in Waimakariri. Auckland and Wellington buyers, in particular, saw the lifestyle properties in the area as affordable.
A near-new three-bedroom, two-bathroom home at 34 Orbiter Drive, in Ohoka, is being sold by deadline. Photo / Supplied
A four-bedroom home at 245 Heywards Road, in Clarkville, is for sale for $1.349m and is considered entry-level for the area. Photo / Supplied
“It’s really quite cheap in comparison to the rest of the country and it’s really close to good schooling on the north side of town.”
Entry-level prices started at about $1.3m, he said.
“There’s a mix of properties in Ohoka and around about. So Ohoka, Swannanoa, Clarkville – you’ve got in some of those areas some semi-rural residential places that might be on 2000sqm to 5000sqm and then you’ve got a lot of 10-acre lots. And then around Ohoka itself it’s more a township, and then you’ve got some really lovely character properties.”
A four-bedroom, two-bathroom home on a 2ha section at 245 Heywards Road, in Clarkville, is for sale for $1.349m, while a near new three-bedroom, two-bathroom home at 34 Orbiter Drive in the sought-after Hallfield subdivision is being sold by deadline.
“There’s lots of cool places out there. Plenty of value for money.”
- Click here to find more properties for sale in Waimakariri
