– North Island buyers are setting house price records in Lawrence, with sales over $1m.
– The Sycamores sold for $1.325m, breaking the previous record of $1.225m set by Marama Lodge.
– Harcourts agent Shelley Krieger noted increased interest from North Islanders seeking retirement properties in South Otago.
North Island buyers are setting house price records in Lawrence, paying well over $1 million for the tiny Otago town’s grandest homes.
One couple looking to escape the “hustle and bustle” paid a record $1.325m for a seven-bedroom homestead on Peel Street, known as The Sycamores, just weeks after another set of buyers from the North Island scooped up a 150-year-old lodge on neighbouring Sowerby Street for $1.225m.
When asked by OneRoof why they had moved to a town of just under 500 people, the new owners of The Sycamores replied: “Who wouldn’t? Maybe the secret’s out.”
They added: “It’s a nice little place, a nice community. It’s 45 minutes from Dunedin airport, and it’s got good dark skies, so astronomy will be good. It’s the gateway to central Otago.”
The new owners of the Peel Street homestead love its size and heritage. Photo / Supplied
The couple said the renovated 1880s home on a 4983sqm section had been an instant hit. “It’s gorgeous. We’ve owned old houses all our lives. Old houses just do it, new houses just don’t.”
The seven bedrooms would come in handy for when family visited, they said.
The vendors had felt the same when they moved from Auckland to Lawrence seven years ago.
One of the vendors told OneRoof he had loved the town and the house, and was a reluctant seller. “I’d be quite happy to stay here. I’m right into mountain biking and I love the fact I’ve got a track on my doorstep and there’s so much stuff up and around Queenstown and Alexander.”
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When they first moved down, they had planned to run it as a bed and breakfast but that fell over after Covid struck. They also realised that having a litter of “yapping” puppies around the house with guests was not the best mix.
The Peel Street sale price toppled the town’s previous house price record, set in June when North Islanders Lisa and Konrad Schwanecke paid $1.225m for Marama Lodge on Sowerby Street.
The couple plan to rent out the lodge as a holiday home until their retirement in about five years.
Schwanecke told OneRoof last month that she fell in love with the seven-bedroom home on Sowerby Street in Lawrence as soon as she saw it for sale last year.
A 150-year-old lodge on Sowerby Street, in Lawrence, sold last month for $1.225m. Photo / Supplied
However, convincing her husband took time, and he only agreed after she gave him 67 reasons why. “It felt peaceful. Like coming home,” she said.
Harcourts agent Shelley Krieger, who was behind the record-breaking Peel Street sale, told OneRoof that there had been a sudden spike in interest from North Islanders wanting to buy in South Otago.
She said she had two Auckland buyers waiting in the wings in case the sale fell over.
Krieger, who had also moved from Auckland to South Otago, said it was a “no-brainer” for people looking to retire. “The main thing is they can sell their property for lots of money, come down here and have money in the bank,” she said.
A renovated four-bedroom, two-bathroom villa at 10 Lancaster Street, in Lawrence, is inviting offers over $739,000. Photo / Supplied
Krieger said Lawrence, Balclutha and Milton were all attracting out-of-towners and for good reason.
“We have no crime, it is not as cold as people think. We still get our beautiful summers.”
There was also a real sense of community. “When you walk down the street, they acknowledge your existence. They look you in the eye and say hello.”
Krieger said stock levels in the district were low, but she was about to list another large home she felt would prove a hit with North Island buyers.
Elsewhere in the town, Ray White agent Megan Young is selling a four-bedroom, two-bathroom villa at 10 Lancaster Street, which is inviting offers over $739,000. She said most of the enquiries were from North Island retirees.
Young said of the villa: “It’s been completely renovated. It’s beautiful.”
There was also a self-contained unit on the property, which could provide an additional income.
Young said having a medical centre in the town was also a bonus, having heard that there was a two-week waiting list just to see a doctor in Auckland.