Palmerston North, in the central North Island, has seen more people move in from the big smoke to take advantage of lower house prices and the lifestyle, says Richard Jensen, director of Harcourts in the city.
Jensen was born and bred in Palmerston North, which is about two hours north of Wellington, and says the median price is around the $680,000 mark, for which people get a tidy three or four-bedroom house with a double garage in a desirable suburb on a 700-900sqm section.
Most homes are still single level with higher density only just beginning in some areas, but because it’s only 10 minutes drive to anywhere people are happy to live in the suburbs and ‘commute’.
“If you live in Wellington or Auckland you want to live close and you’re prepared to live up because of the travel time, whereas here, our Square is in the middle of town.
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“Basically, as you come in from any of the four main suburbs it takes about the same time to meet for a coffee in the Square.”
Of the four main suburbs, Hokowhitu, Kelvin Grove, Riverdale and Cloverlea, Hokowhitu is the most sought-after because of the school zoning and there the average price is closer to $1 million.
Harcourts sold a three-bedroom 1960s home at Peters Avenue in Cloverlea in June for $620,000. Another home, a four-bedroom architecturally-designed new home in a lifestyle subdivision at Aokautere, sold for $1.4m in April.
Jensen says out-of-towners make up between 5% and 10% of buyers each month. They come from Auckland, Wellington and up from Christchurch, and the pressure they have put on the market has spilled into some of the smaller towns around Palmerston North.
This four-bedroom architecturally-designed new home in a lifestyle subdivision at Aokautere, Palmerston North, sold for $1.4m in April. Photo / Supplied
Small-town Marton and Bulls, about half an hour away, are cases in point – there real estate is “on a rampage” because 250 families are relocating from Whenuapai Air Base in Auckland to Ohakea Air base where new hangars are being built.
“We’ve got all these Auckland families coming. The two closest places are Bulls and Marton. Marton and Bulls are sleepy little hollows that have gone alright but they’re prospering big time with the upcoming settlement of Aucklanders.”
Some of the newcomers are buying new-builds in the towns, with four bedrooms and two bathrooms selling for around $750,000 because the land is so cheap, Jensen says.
Others are interested in lifestyle blocks. “You buy two or five acres you feel like a millionaire and you’re paying $750,000 to $850,000.”
The Aucklanders are in heaven, he says: “Their dollar goes so far. They can come and buy in cash, or cash up, or have a very little mortgage, and if they earn less money it doesn’t matter because they still have more money left at the end of the day.”
Others still prefer Feilding, a rural town about 20 minutes north, which offers a bigger community.
Jensen says there are about 25,000 people in Feilding and that the town has won New Zealand’s most beautiful town gong numerous times.
“I think we’ve got the largest sale yards in the southern hemisphere in Feilding, so we’ve got a strong rural presence.”
Harcourts sold a Feilding home with four bedrooms and two bathrooms on Sherwill Street in August for $675,000.
This tidy four bedroom, two-bathroom home on Sherwill Street in Feilding, Palmerston North sold in August for $675,000 - $5000 above its 2022 CV. Photo / Supplied
Palmerston North itself has Massey University, UCOL (Universal College of Learning), airforce and army government departments, he says.
It’s a great place to bring up children, especially given it’s only 10 minutes to get across town from anywhere to the sports grounds.
The housing market in Palmerston North was a bit crazy last year (2021) but has settled into a more traditional and balanced market: “We’re saying it’s a good time to buy, it’s so much more affordable than it was a year ago.”
Feilding is also known for the Mansfield car raceway and Palmerston North has the Awapuni horse race track and there’s always plenty to do.
Says Jensen: “We get a hard time that we are a little provincial town that doesn’t offer a lot but when you get here we’re a big surprise.”
The lifestyle is slower than Auckland’s but it’s not sleepy, he says.
“We’ve got everything that opens and closes that you need and the big thing here is that we’re central, because we’re three hours to Taupo, we’re an hour-and-a-half to Wellington, we’re two hours to Napier, Hawke’s Bay and New Plymouth is two-and-a-half hours, so we’re only a couple of hours drive to anywhere or an hour on the plane to Auckland.”
And while Palmerston North is inland, there’s easy access to Foxton Beach on the west coast.
Some people commute from Foxton, a bach town where the standard three-bedroom house can cost in the $500,000s but where there are also million-dollar homes on the waterways.
