A three-bedroom refurbished cottage in Kaitaia, Northland, looks to be one of the most stylish and affordable homes for sale right now.
With work-from-home options booming, and many home buyers relocating from expensive big cities to cheaper, smaller towns around New Zealand, OneRoof went hunting for the most attractive bargains on the market.
We found dozens of renovated, or at least well maintained, standalone homes for sale for under $400,000, the all-important house price cap on existing properties that are eligible for purchase with the First Home Grant around much of the country.
The standout home that grabbed our attention was a newly renovated home at 6 Tangonge Crescent, in Kaitaia, that has a price tag of $395,000.
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The listing agent, Ray White agent Jane Leef, said the renovation was the passion project of a young doctor who relocated to Kaitaia during Covid. “He didn’t know anyone up here, so he decided to have a little project to work on while he was working in the area,” she said.
“The house was quite run-down when he bought it, and it needed love and attention. So he has chipped away at it.”
Leef was blown away when she first visited the property, telling OneRoof that the owner’s furniture was probably better than a staging company could have supplied, “[The furniture] is really tasteful, and he’s really good at [decorating]. That’s how he lives.”
The timber floors have been sanded back and oiled recently and the home presents as really fresh, she says. “The bathroom and kitchen aren’t flashy, but they’re very neat and tidy.”
The three-bedroom, one bathroom home sits on 910sqm of land. The owner, who is selling up after a job opportunity came up overseas, planted fruit trees in the back garden for his own eventual use and has put in garden beds at the front.
But the Kaitaia house has competition.
At the other end of the country, in Invercargill, Inspire Real Estate agent Adam Love is selling a newly renovation home at 32 Dundee Place, in Strathern.
‘It’s all been done on Dundee!” his listing says of the 97sqm three-bedroom brick home.
For sale for $399,000: 32 Dundee Place, in Strathern, Invercargill. Photo / Supplied
The house has a new roof, kitchen, bathroom, carpet and vinyl, curtains and new paint inside and out. The owners, Auckland-based investors, had planned to hold the property once renovating it, but other opportunities have arisen, says Love.
First-home buyers have been turning up at open homes, says Love, because the $399,000 price tag means they can get a First Home Grant. “Apart from the Southland factor, which has its own benefits over the North, the [home] has a brand-new roof, which is a $15,000 job.”
Love says the current owners of 32 Dundee Place bought the home four years ago as an investment and renovated it last year. “The only reason they are selling is they've got an opportunity to achieve a life goal of something quite different, but they need some cash to do that.”
Another gem up for grabs is a recently renovated solid ex-state house at 29 Wilson Street, Waverley, in Taranaki. The 71sqm two-bedroom home on 665sqm land is on the market with Harcourts agent Lisa Ratahi. The home comes with change from $400,000, which is a bonus. It’s listed at offers over $339,000. It has stripped floors, new kitchen, new bathroom, fresh paint, and new carpets.
Ratahi says the house is close to the beaches and not far from mountains. “It’s a great home in a great rural community,” she says.
LJ Hooker Oamaru principal Stephen Robertson argues that first-home buyers couldn’t find a better location than New Zealand’s steampunk capital Oamaru.
The property identified by OneRoof is quite rightly in contention for New Zealand’s best sub-$400,000 home, argues Robertson.
The three-bedroom 110sqm home on 650sqm of land at 4 Hayle Street, in Oamaru, is a really “hot price” at $380,000, says Robertson. It has a brand-new kitchen, modern bathroom with wet floor shower, beautifully polished floors and modern fresh neutral palette inside and out.
4 Hayle Street, in Oamaru, has a “hot price”. Photo / Supplied
“The paint has hardly dried at 4 Hayle Street,” says Robertson. “With a recent renovation which has just been completed, this home is sure to impress,” he says. The brand-new oven still has plastic wrap on it.
The home has high-speed broadband, says Robertson. “Oamaru was the first town in NZ to have high speed broadband. Fancy [that],” he says. “This property is located within the Fenwick School zone which is a very desirable decile 6 primary school.”
Since the start of the pandemic, Oamaru has seen an influx of people relocating from bigger cities for the quieter life, says Robertson. “There is no shortage of work and something for everyone.”
205 Stafford Street, in Hokitika, is on the market for sale for $395,000. Photo / Supplied
The South Island’s West Coast has been a magnet for bargain hunters in recent years. Harcourts agent Jo Fearn is selling a newly renovated home at 205 Stafford Street, Hokitika, for $395,000.
“[It’s] definitely a lifestyle choice living here on the West Coast, you can see the mountains out one window and we are right on the West Coast beach,” says Fearn. “[It’s] nature’s own backdoor. “
The 100sqm home on 918sqm of land is fully renovated with a painted exterior and interior. It comes with its very own sleepout/man cave. “The buyer can move in without doing anything [although they] may want to add a deck to enjoy the West Coast sunsets with a drink at the end of the day.”
The home has fibre internet and Hokitika is a friendly welcoming town with plenty of job opportunities, she says.
