When he is not scouting jaw-dropping estates or sharing fashion tips in Queenstown Lakes on the reality TV show Rich Listers, Sold on Kapiti agent Karl Matakatea is most likely to be seen enticing Wellingtonians to move up to the beach towns of the Kapiti Coast.
Matakatea, who co-owns boutique agency Sold on Kapiti with Chris Judd, said that the past two years have seen a big up-tick in Wellingtonians leaving the city. The region runs from Paekakariki, 45km north of Wellington city, all the way up the coast to Otaki, and includes Te Horo, Waikanae, Paraparaumu, Raumati Beach and Raumati South.
“We’re seeing a lot of mum and dads who are moving from the big old villa in Khandallah hills to something more modern on the flat out here,” he told OneRoof.
“Some already have the bach on Waikanae beach and are tossing up whether to demolish and build the big permanent home, or sell and buy something already built up the road.
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“The architectural ones really entice out the Wellingtonians,” he said.
Earlier this year a striking four-bedroom 192sqm house on Tennis Court Road, Raumati South, designed by Ben Gilpin of Gilplans Architecture attracted over 120 viewers at three weekends of open homes, garnering multiple offers before selling for $1.8 million.
The top price paid in Kapiti this year was $4.15m for a six-bedroom luxury lodge on Main North Road, Paraparaumu. Photo / Supplied
“It was a beautiful modern renovation; it had been in the local garden trail. We thought we’d get a lot of people, but didn’t expect that many.”
Matakatea said the downsizers were particularly drawn to properties on the Waikanae hill neighbourhood of Kohekohe Park, where near-new houses can be found for around $1.5m.
The agency currently has a brand-new four-bedroom Waikanae house, again by designer Gilplans Architecture, on just under 600sqm on 92 Kotare Street that is asking for offers over $1.599m. Matakatea said buying an already finished house beats the uncertainty these days around building costs and timelines.
A renovated four-bedroom house on Tennis Court Road, Raumati South, sold for $1.8m after 120 people attended the open home. Photo / Supplied
Earlier this year his agency sold a modern four-bedroom 261sqm house on a bush clad 8000sqm site on the hills above Paraparaumu for $2.1m, but he said there were buyers shopping with budgets of up to $4m.
OneRoof records show the top prices paid in the district last year were $4.45m for a six-bedroom, 569sqm house on a 2612sqm block on Matatua Road, in the exclusive Goodwood Estate of Raumati Beach, and a 1ha property on Killalea Place, Paraparaumu, which fetched $3.55m - both sold in September.
A nearly 5ha lifestyle block on Aston Road, Waikanae, sold in November 2020 for $4.25m.
Earlier this year, a luxurious six-bedroom lodge used for weddings and functions on a 1.89ha estate on Main North Road, Paraparaumu, sold for $4.15m. The property, in two titles, was marketed by NZ Sotheby’s International Realty.
A near-new four bedroom house on 3 Barbaras Way, Waikanae Beach, is selling by tender closing November 16. Photo / Supplied
An architect-designed four-bedroom house on 92 Kotare Street, Waikanae, is asking for offers over $1.599m. Photo / Supplied
“A lot of people are getting a really beautiful architectural home for $2.5m. Or a big lifestyle block ten minutes from the train station for $1.5m to $2m. They’re not beachfront but much better lifestyle,” Matakatea said.
Young families upgrading from smaller city cottages or apartments are finding well-built brick and tile homes for around $1.2m to $1.6m, while first-home buyers can start on the ladder for $700,000.
“$1.6m will get you a four-bed, two-bath, low maintenance brick and tile. Or in Raumati, something older and quirkier, near the beach.
“All the Wellingtonians want to be on the Old Beach part of Waikanae, it’s like the Gucci bag. Waikanae traditionally used to be retirees, but it’s gone from God’s waiting room to the kids’ play room,” he said.
A modern four-bedroom house on the hills above Paraparaumu sold earlier this year for $2.1m. Photo / Supplied
He said a property on 3 Barbaras Way, Waikanae Beach, a three-year-old four-bedroom house of 239sqm on nearly 1000sqm for sale with a deadline closing November 16 will likely fetch between $1.5m and $1.6m.
The agent said that many of the buyers looking at the coast were also checking out the lifestyle towns of the southern Wairarapa, such as Featherston, Greytown and Martinborough, but plumping for Kapiti because of its flat access and more frequent commuter trains.
“They don’t like that hill. Here the trains are more regular and less than an hour to the city. We’ve got a great café scene developing here, Saturday markets, there’s quite the art scene and more and more employers setting up.
“The funny thing is, people think they still want to shoot into town for a show, but then they find they get out here and they barely want to go to the city.”
