Luxury homes in New Zealand’s wealthiest neighbourhoods may be selling for upwards of $7 million, but there are parts of the country where houses can be picked up for as little as $80,000.
OneRoof looked at the sale prices of all residential dwellings sold in the first eight months of 2022. Excluded from the analysis were apartments and units and properties that had not been listed for sale.
The research found that 1793 houses sold for less than $500,000 - less than 10% of total sales. Bay of Plenty commanded the biggest share of sub-$500,000 house sales (352 in total) while Wellington boasted the least, recording just one house sale of less than $500,000.
There were 41 houses that sold for less than $200,000 and three that sold for less than $100,000. Most of the country’s cheapest homes were in West Coast and Southland.
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The analysis found that Queenstown-Lakes had the fewest bargains. Its lowest sale price for a house this year was $649,000. Auckland’s cheapest find was a one-bedroom do-up in Henderson, in the city’s west, but the cheapest house closest to the city centre was a three-bedroom townhouse in Ellerslie that didn’t have code of compliance. It fetched $720,000 in May.
Some of the country’s cheapest houses were sold by investors who didn’t upgrade their properties to Healthy Homes standards, but OneRoof found that Dunedin’s cheapest house was put up for sale because the tenant refused to have the property upgraded.
The two-bedroom cottage in Careys Bay sold for $205,000 in February and is believed to be the oldest property in the beach settlement, just outside of Port Chalmers.
One Agency agent Mike Cranstoun, who was the listing agent for the house, told OneRoof that the tenant “didn’t want it brought up to the Healthy Homes standard that is required for rentals”. The tenant preferred his alternative lifestyle and the owners decided to sell the cottage to avoid future problems.
This shack in Westport, West Coast, sold for $80,000. Photo / Supplied
A neighbouring property in Westport sold for $86,000 in June. Photo / Supplied
First-home buyers showed a lot of interest in the property, but simply couldn’t get banks funding for the purchase, and as a result the property sold for about $30,000 less than it might have otherwise achieved, Cranstoun said.
The buyers, he said, had a track record of purchasing potential do-ups and selling them on after making improvements. “They’re currently renovating it up to first-home buyer standard,” Cranstoun said. “They’ve put in a new kitchen, a new bathroom and replaced some of the weatherboards already. It’s going to get rewired, re-plumbed, and brought back up to [Building] Code.
“It will go back on the market either late this year or early next year. I expect [the price] will have a four on the front of it.”
The country’s cheapest house was a crumbling shack in Westport, West Coast, that was sold “as is where is” in June for $80,000 - $5000 below its list price. The listing for the property called on buyers to take advantage of the 517sqm section and build their dream home on it (presumably after clearing away the shack).
A two-bedroom house nearby was the country’s second cheapest home, selling for $86,000 in June. The property had been stripped back in preparation for “improvements or demolition”, according to the listing ad, with the agent encouraging buyers to bring their hammer.
This house in Parklands, Christchurch, sold in March for $190,000 and then again in July for $229,000. Photo / Supplied
Queenstown-Lakes’ cheapest: a two-bedroom house that sold for $649,000. Photo / Supplied
Another bargain basement property that’s about to get a makeover is an old post office, turned white baiters’ cottage on Broome Street, in Seddonville, West Coast.
Property Brokers agent Glenys Elley sold the property in February for $110,000 to a young first-home buyer from Christchurch. “She’s a young lady in her early 20s and she was looking for work in the area,” she said.
The home sits on solid concrete piles and the structure has been well maintained. The interior, however, is extremely dated and will need complete overhaul. “It’s pretty basic, but a very solid building,” says Elley. Fortunately for the buyer it’s just outside the flood zone.
The quarter acre corner section could in theory be subdivided, says Elley, meaning the new owner could add a second home and most likely let one to hunters or white-baiters.
Some bargain basement homes are destined for the wrecking ball, not renovation. That’s the case with a house on Bower Avenue in Parklands, Christchurch, that sold twice this year.
The two-bedroom home was first sold for $190,000 in March as an “as is, where is” deceased estate. The March buyer’s circumstances changed and Harcourts Gold agent Gerardo Guzman sold it to an investor in July for $229,000. “[The buyer] is an investor and she has bought it for the section. She’s getting the house demolished and building a new house,” Guzman said.
Auckland's cheapest house of 2022 is a "do-up" in Henderson. It sold for $425,000. Photo / Supplied
Some of the neighbours are pleased that the existing home will be removed and a new home built. “We even received a call from a neighbour complaining that the house was so ugly that it couldn’t be sold,” Guzman said.
Bargain basement prices can vary a lot. The cheapest standalone home to sell in the Queenstown-Lakes was a basic two-bedroom home on 971sqm of land a stone’s throw from Lake Wakatipu’s shores.
It was sold by Colliers agent Nicole Bell to first-home buyers for $649,000. They plan to extend the existing home while living in it. “It has a very small kitchen, and bathroom, so it’s pretty tight. But the young couple that bought it can see opportunities to push it out and give it some room,” Bell said.
Auckland’s cheapest standalone home was a 1930s “outdoor cabin” and shed that had been converted into a sleep-out. The property on Henderson Valley Road was described as “do me up” with a “fair interior” by Ray White agents Michael Thompson and Andy Roche and sold for $425,000 in May. The June 2021 rateable value assessment was $610,000.
