A large house in Auckland or Queenstown can set you back several million dollars - and in some cases, more than $30 million. But in New Zealand’s small towns a big home can be picked up at a fraction of the price.
For budget-conscious buyers, OneRoof has found the biggest properties for sale at very affordable prices. Check out our list below:
A Canadian lodge in the Western Bay of Plenty
The first home on our list - 109 Town Point Road, in Maketu - is the most expensive and most unusual. The 300sqm five-bedroom home sits on a 1200sqm section overlooking the Pacific Ocean and is priced at $1.99m. The Douglas Fir log post and beam home was built in a Canadian lodge style in 2019 and should last centuries, says New Zealand Sotheby’s International Realty sales associate Jeremy Pryor.
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Unusual is an understatement when it comes to the log home at 109 Town Point Road, Maketu, Western Bay of Plenty. “This gentleman that built it has had decades of experience building lodges in Canada and all over North America,” says Pryor. The home, in New Zealand’s unofficial pie capital, just down the coast from popular Papamoa, has expansive views over the Bay of Plenty all the way to Mount Maunganui, and further.
109 Town Point Road has clear views of the Pacific Ocean. Photo / Supplied
The house, which is listed for sale at $1.99m, features huge Douglas Fir beams. Photo / Supplied
After decades of natural disasters in New Zealand, buyers will be happy that the two-storey structure could survive just about anything mother nature can throw at it in terms of earthquakes, storms and floods.
It sits atop a hill, and the structure well exceeds the New Zealand Building Code, says Pryor. Douglas Fir logs are the frame of the house and its strength, but also part of the aesthetics, he says. To keep it warm in the winter and cool in the summer it’s energy efficient with Canadian-level insulation involving ICF Polyblock insulated concrete .
The property is vying with a neighbouring home for the title as the most expensive property ever in Maketu. It’s a bargain, however, compared to the top end of the market in Papamoa or Mount Maunganui.
The current owner was born and raised in Maketu and the home, a labour of love, was meant to be his forever home. Thanks to Cupid’s arrow, however, he’s selling up and heading north to the Bay of Islands. “He has bought a piece of land up in Kerikeri. His look on life is he probably has two more of these builds left in him and he wants to do them [in New Zealand],” says Pryor.
An English manor in Milton
The children have flown the nest, and the owners of 108 Limeworks Road, in Circle Hill, Milton, are looking to upsize from their stunning 304sqm two-storey colonial home on 1.86 hectares of land to something larger.
They want even more room for their vegetable garden and animals, says LJ Hooker agent Luke MacDonald. The home is on the market for enquiries over $1.085m.
The ground floor of the two-storey colonial home was built in the 1890s. The original owner then added a second floor a decade or so later. The upper level includes one of the property’s most notable features, a turret, which was a nod to the original owner’s childhood home in England, says MacDonald.
A five-bedroom on 1.86ha at 108 Limeworks Road, in Circle Hill, Milton, is seeking enquiries over $1.085m. Photo / Supplied
The current owners bought the home in 2012 and have lovingly restored it in traditional style, keeping original features such as wood panelling, Victorian colours, and a flagstone floor in the kitchen.
The only modern extension to the home is a conservatory, built around 20 years ago. “The beams are rimu that have been recycled from the original limeworks,” says MacDonald. Likewise the garden paths use local limestone chips.
Interest has come from as far afield as Auckland, and Australia, where an expat local is looking at returning home to the district.
Arts and Craft goes large in Waimate
A big home with a big history is Waimate’s 17 Rhodes Street. The four-bedroom, two-storey, 220sqm Arts and Crafts-style home comes with charm, location and convenience, says Red Hot Real Estate agent Dionne Wilkins.
The home was built by Richard White for his new bride in the early 1920s. He went on to build four more in the same style nearby, which all still survive. As well as being a builder, White offered interior design advice, paint, wallpapers and curtains.
Subsequent owners covered up many of the original features when they fell out of fashion, but thankfully didn’t remove them, says Wilkins.
17 Rhodes Street, in Waimate, Canterbury, is a four-bedroom character home with a sale price of $645,000. Photo / Supplied
Selwyn White, son of Richard, bought the house back when he was in his 70s and set about returning the home to its original glory. “He found the property had had the ceilings lowered, windows painted and many of the features you see today had been covered up,” says Wilkins.
“He spent many hours taking the home back to its original state ensuring the features of the Arts and Crafts era were back in the property. That is what you see today,” says Wilkins. The original stonework, timber beams, and leadlight windows are all original. The home is on the market for $645,000.
Mayor’s grand designs in Taumarunui
A lovingly restored and extended stately home in Taumarunui is on the market with Todd Nicholson, of Property Brokers, for $769,000-plus. The five-bedroom, two-bathroom, 221sqm home on 2011sqm of land has panoramic views from upstairs to Mt Ruapehu and Mt Hikurangi.
“Tarrangower”, the most imposing home in the area at the time and today, was built by former mayor A.S. Laird, who according to the gossip sheet Truth was known for his impetuosity and forceful personality.
A five-bedroom home for sale for $769,000-plus at 17 Tarrangower Avenue, in Taumarunui, Ruapehu. Photo / Supplied
Laird started work as a carpenter, then became an architect and designed his own home, which was built in 1920, shortly after his mayoral term from 1917 to 1919 . It’s sited at the northern end of Taumarunui adjacent to the suburb of Lairdvale, named after Laird, and it's a short walk with a golf cart down to the Taumarunui Golf Club, where he was the first life member.
By the time the current owner bought the home in 2009 it had seen better days. It has since been extended and lovingly restored, says Nicholson. “They've [renovated] in keeping with the house. The extension has timber windows that are double-glazed, which is quite neat and in keeping with the rest of the house.
“[The first impression] when you walk in is all the original character that’s still there, " he says. “Like the pressed metal ceilings, ceiling roses, a nice big entrance, beautiful stairs, and a big landing, which could act as a small living area.”
A brand-new semi self-contained wing currently houses a third generation of the family, but could be used to run a business, or even do short-term rentals. A large new garage is in keeping with the property thanks to the owners buying heritage windows.
Clean up in Ranfurly
When it comes to big houses versus small prices, the Old Post Office in Ranfurly, Central Otago, hits the jackpot. The Old Post Office is not the most expensive home on the market in the hood of Ranfurly. But it almost certainly has the most living space.
For $595,000 buyers get nine bedrooms, four bathrooms, 1169sqm of land smack bang in the centre of town, and several income streams.
11 Pery Street, in Ranfurly, Central Otago, is a former post office with nine bedrooms and laundry business. It is priced at $595,000. Photo / Supplied
Currently, the downstairs operates as a backpackers hostel for Otago Rail Trail guests, and the owners live upstairs in a two-bedroom flat, says PGG Wrightson agent Shane Turfus. There is an outbuilding used for bicycle storage.
The owners run two other businesses out of the property: a commercial laundry for other accommodation providers in the area, and one of the last and largest DVD stores left in New Zealand, says Turfus.
