Whatever the weather, Kiwis either want or dream of having a swimming pool in their next property more than anything else.
Two years into the Covid pandemic and the most searched for things when it comes to looking for a property on OneRoof are pools, followed by sea views and waterfront locations.
There were 2.86 million searches on OneRoof for properties with pools between December 2020 and May this year.
James Wilson, head of valuations at OneRoof’s data partner, Valocity, said people’s requirements had changed since Covid-19 and there was now a “desire” for properties that offered additional amenities over just four walls and a roof.
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Houses with pools have always been pretty popular, but even more so since lockdown, he said.
“Put really simply, if you are locked down in a property, you’d far prefer to have a pool and things like that to be able to enjoy with your family than not have one.”
Houses with pools were usually associated with larger pieces of land so with new builds popping up in Auckland on smaller sites, a house with a pool often guaranteed more space, he said.
Being able to see the water or be right on its doorstep also holds a massive attraction with 2.26 million searches for sea views and 2.16 million searches for a waterfront location over that same period.
Bayleys agent Victoria Bidwell, who specialises in high-end properties on Auckland’s North Shore, said water views were non-negotiable for many of her buyers.
“With absolute waterfront, what you look at today, you are going to be looking at in 10 years' time,” she said.
Greymouth in West Coast. House-hunters in the region were most keen on finding a bach. Photo / Getty Images
Strong demand for sea views kept prices high, with Bidwell recently selling a beachfront property at Cheltenham Beach, in Devonport, for $8 million.
Second-home buyers were also doing plenty of house-hunting on OneRoof, with searches for “rental potential” and “bach” the fourth and fifth most popular on the site.
And when it came to the size of the home, 1.66 million searches were done for three-bedroom homes followed by four-bedroom homes, which generated 1.1 million searches.
Searches for two-bedroom, five-bedroom, one-bedroom and six-bedroom homes followed.
Unsurprisingly, there is regional variation in what users searched for.
Pools were top of the list in Auckland, Canterbury, Central North Island, Waikato and Wairarapa, but fell to the bottom five in Southland, where properties with rental potential were a priority.
In holiday hot spots such as the Coromandel and Bay of Plenty, sea views were unsurprisingly the most searched for property attribute. They were also the most sought-after thing for those looking in Wellington, Taranaki, Otago, Nelson & Bays and Manawatu/Whanganui.
While buyers in Northland, Marlborough, Gisborne and Central Otago/Lakes District wanted the prestigious waterfront location first and foremost, those looking on the West Coast were most likely wanting or dreaming of a bach.
Ray White Howick agent Marie Raos, who covers suburbs in East Auckland, said that for many of her buyers being in zone for the right school was a priority, but so too was having a house on a full section.
Valocity head of valuations James Wilson says lockdowns made pools a must-have item for many buyers. Photo / Fiona Goodall
Pools and sea views were popular, but with so many people talking about global warming and erosion, waterfront homes seemed to be further down the list, she said.
Raos said people paid more for houses with sea views in her patch than water view houses on the North Shore.
And while the eastern suburbs were spoilt with beaches, generally people preferred to have a pool than be close to the beach if they had a choice.
Houses with pools were not a lot more expensive, just more attractive to the buyer, she said.
“You don’t get the value back for the expense of it and the price.”
Despite Hamilton being in a land-locked city, Harcourts Hamilton director Campbell Scott said that pools could be really polarising and while some people loved them, others didn’t want the cost or maintenance associated with them.
Pools weren’t often the deal breaker for a lot of people as they considered all the features of a property, but they did help a property stand out from the rest.
Scott said more relevant searches for Hamilton were properties in certain school zones – particularly those in zone for Hamilton Boys High or any of the Hillcrest schools.
In Hamilton, a lot of people also looked for lake or river views and it often came down to personal preference.
