Tiny homes don't always come with a tiny price tag in New Zealand. Just this month, a 51sqm one-bedroom house in Auckland's Kingsland sold for around $800,000, after a competitive auction.
But there are tiny bargains out there. OneRoof has combed the current crop of listings to find the country's most affordable tiny homes. Surprisingly, we have found a clutch of houses that are no bigger than the average Kiwi living room sitting on huge plots of land.
One of the cheapest homes on the market at the moment is 2A Maude Street, in Oamaru, Otago.
The rustic 14sqm one-bedroom home sits on top of a hill on a 3622sqm section set over two separate titles, and is seeking enquiries over $275,000.
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Billed by One Agency agent Kitty Culp as "wonderful" and "whimsical", the property was built by local Shetland pony breeder April Buckingham as her tiny dream home. However, the house, which boasts unobstructed views out to the sea, has never been lived in, with Buckingham deciding to sell up three years after finishing the build.
Buckingham has had a bad run when it comes to building her forever home, with her difficulties even appearing on Fair Go, says Culp. “She was ripped off by a tiny home builder after the earthquake in Christchurch. She put down a hefty down payment on [the previous tiny home] and the builder took off with her money.”
Inside the rustic home at 2A Maude Street, in Oamaru. Photo / Supplied
Not to be deterred, Buckingham picked up the pieces and started again. “She is quite an amazing lady and has bought interesting properties in the past,” says Culp. “She wanted to get a tiny home again and found this block of land in Oamaru.” The land was ideal for Buckingham’s ponies.
This time she managed to have the tiny home built and transported to the site, just for the pandemic to get in the way of her plans. “When Covid hit she went up to Nelson to look after her 98-year-old mother,” says Culp. She has remained in Nelson with her mother since then and has decided to put the tiny home on the market.
Although liveable, the home needs to be hooked up to the town sewerage system before getting a code of compliance certificate, says Culp.
Another tiny home with big views is 17 Rimu Street, in Ravensbourne, Dunedin.
Off-the-grid living for $349,000 at 17 Rimu Street, in Ravensbourne, Dunedin. Photo / Supplied
Inside the one-bedroom Rimu Street home. Photo / Supplied
The one-bedroom living pod wiht a separate bathroom pod is set on 5590sqm of land and looks out across Otago Harbour. The listing highlights the opportunities to live off-the-grid for just $349,000. "Have you found yourself grumbling over the ever-increasing costs of living? Well, the time is right to replace ANGER with ACTION!" writes Harcourts agent Tania Stoddard in the listing on OneRoof.
"Live off the grid. Grow your own produce. Live more sustainably and with simplicity. Water is heated by gas, electrics powered via solar panels and there is capacity for water storage around 20,000 litres."
Stoddard told OneRoof that the property comprises two further outbuildings containing a pantry, fridge, laundry and additional storage, and that the section is surrounded by bush. Also a plus for an off-the-grid home is that it’s only a 10-minute drive from Dunedin CBD.
Stoddard says owners are selling to move closer to family. Their unique home was built to ensure they could live frugally. “All they’re paying is $500 a year in rates,” she says.
At 51 Ipswich Street, in Hampden, Waitaki, buyers can get tiny home with a modern sleepout or art studio on a 2024sqm section.
Seeking offers over $449,000 is 51 Ipswich Street, in Hampden, Waitaki, a stylish tiny home on a 2024sqm section. Photo / Supplied
The portable property is split over two levels. Photo / Supplied
The 28sqm home, which is seeking offers over $449,000, is stylishly presented and thanks to a mezzanine floor bedroom, feels much larger than its footprint suggests, says listing agent Rebecca Koberstein, from Harcourts. And it's within walking distance to the beach.
The house is transportable, so the buyer can choose to move it elsewhere on the site, or sell it and build a larger home.
The classic hunting and fishing lifestyle is calling at 617 State Highway 41, in Tokaanu, Taupō. The 76sqm home on 4.86ha of land has views out to the lake and is designed for off-the-grid living.
A 76sqm home on 4.86ha for sale at 617 State Highway 41, in Tokaanu, Taupō. Photo / Supplied
The two-bedroom property is ideal for those who love hunting and fishing. Photo / Supplied
Listing agent Amanda Colling, of Tremains Turangi, says the house has an extra sleepout/cabin above the main home that could be used for family, or as a short-term rental.
It’s even possible to hunt on your own land, says Colling. “As well as the hunting, you have fly fishing on the Tongariro River, and you have the ski fields at National Park. They’re all reasons why [buyers] want to be down here.”
The tiny home movement in New Zealand is often focused on new-builds with modern design. However tiny homes have always existed in the form of cottages. One such tiny home, albeit with modern features, is “The Greenkeepers Cottage" at 1339 Whangaparaoa Road, in Army Bay, Rodney.
For sale: a 65sqm one-bedroom home at 1339 Whangaparaoa Road, in Army Bay, Auckland. Photo / Supplied
Inside The Greenkeepers Cottage. Photo / Supplied
Originally built as the greenkeeper's cottage for the nearby golf course, the fully renovated 65sqm tiny home sits on a 600sqm section and is proving popular with single buyers, says Harcourts agent Chris Triscott.
“Over the last couple of weeks, we have had three private viewings from exactly the same type of person: single female who is looking to move into the area. It would suit them quite nicely.”
The home’s land size and proximity to Auckland mean it is going to sell for a lot more than the bargain-basement tiny homes in the South Island.
The vendors had a registered valuation done at the time of listing, which came in at $885,000, says Triscott. The home didn’t sell over the summer, but interest has picked up, he says. “Now that the market seems to be coming back to life a bit we have had people come through and say, ‘We can see an eight in front of it’.”
Buyers of a tiny house in Te Kuiti can get a near new-build home that has only been lived in for six weeks, says agent Harcourts Craig McKellar. “[The vendor] is a lady from Hamilton who bought it for her son. He lived in it for about six weeks, but things didn’t work out,” says McKellar.
The home at 3A Grey Street, Te Kuiti, is the only tiny home McKellar knows of within Te Kuiti. It is fully insulated and double-glazed and has a container and shed on site for extra storage.
Priced at $450,000 is this two-bedroom home at 3A Grey Street, in Te Kuiti, Waitomo. Photo / Supplied
