Why someone buys in this suburb and not that one can vary quite a bit. Price does play a large part in people’s thinking. Let’s face it, if houses next to our favourite beach, restaurant and cafe were within budget, or money was no barrier, the housing market and our towns and cities would be very different places from what they are now.
But liveability is important. We grow to love the neighbourhoods we choose to live in because we care. In fact, love is probably a more powerful factor in our property choices than we realise. OneRoof has just launched its new TV ad around that very thought: “Love where you live.”
In such a big country, and with so many property options available, what makes a suburb or home liveable and loveable will vary from person to person. Is it being close to an unspoilt stretch of golden sand and gentle waves, or are the baristas who make your morning coffee sending you off to work with a smile on your face? What about the traffic and the schools? And on the home front, is it the pool or the backyard that’s the centre of your attention and family life?
OneRoof decided to ask agents around the country why they love where they live and where they sell. Reasons ranged from rainforest views and award-winning steak pies to dog-friendly beaches, zero traffic lights, surf casting before breakfast, and veggie gardens with million-dollar views.
What shines through is a deep connection to community. These agents aren’t just selling homes, they’re helping people find their place in new neighbourhoods.
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Deedee Daly, Greymouth
Canadian Deedee Daly moved to New Zealand’s West Coast 35 years ago and has never looked back since. Her husband, Greg, convinced her that they should help out his parents at their pub in the tiny settlement of Ikamatua.
The couple left Ikamatua some years later and shifted 50km south to Greymouth, where they joined the real estate world, subsequently launching Greg Daly Real Estate. Greg and grown-up son Mitch sell rural properties, while Deedee and daughter Zoe concentrate on houses and lifestyle blocks in the Grey Valley and surrounds.
The Daly family love where they sell. Photo / Supplied
When asked what she loves about her patch, she doesn’t hesitate to answer: The people. “We get a lot of buyers who come from outside the West Coast. I say to them my area is great because the people are so friendly and easy-going and relaxed. Everyone’s just so generous and kind.”
Getting around is a lot easier than a Canadian city as well. “There are no traffic lights,” Deedee told OneRoof. “There are only a couple of roundabouts in Greymouth.”
Deedee also loves the environment. The West Coast gets a lot of rain, she said, but that meant lush rainforests. “It is so beautiful.”
Her job takes her through some of the country’s most dramatic scenery. “You don’t mind driving up the Coast Road because of the beautiful coastline. Even when you go up the Grey Valley, you’re going into dairy farm country, and it just takes your breath away.”
Deedee Daly loves the natural beauty of the West Coast. Photo / Getty Images
One of Daly’s favourite listings this year: A modern home on Welshmans Road, in Marsden, which sold for $945,000 in January. Photo / Supplied
She added: “You’ve got views of Mount Cook and the Alps. It’s not far from Christchurch if you need to be there. You’ve got the airport in Hokitika if you need to fly anywhere.”
West Coast house prices jumped 35% in the last 12 months, according to the latest housing market figures from the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand – a huge leap when prices elsewhere were flat or dropping.
Despite the leap, the region’s median house price is still only $420,000, the country’s lowest, and Deedee said affordability was a big drawcard. “People are selling in Nelson or Christchurch and coming here and buying a really nice house for half the price.”
Her favourite listing this year was a two-storey modern home on Welshmans Road, in Marsden, which sold for $945,000 in January. “It felt like an oasis. You are surrounded by bush. You are very private, and the house was very, very tastefully decorated.”
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Steve Koerber, Remuera
Remuera means a lot to Bayleys agent Steve Koerber. The prestigious Auckland suburb is where he lives, where he has brought up his children and where he works. “We feel we can do a better job for our clients if we know our patch intimately,” Koerber said.
Most New Zealanders will have heard of Remuera. It’s the aspirational suburb, where rich-listers, doctors, business leaders, politicians and generally successful professionals choose to live.
Schools are a real drawcard in Remuera. Koerber and wife Nila brought up a blended family of seven children in the suburb, so they know all about it. “It’s not just the state schools, it’s the private schools, especially Dio, St Kents, Kings, Baradene, St Cuths and ACG. A lot of people we meet in our patch are coming to be near ACG at the moment.”
Bayleys agents Steve and Nila Koerber have made Remuera their patch and their home. Photo / Fiona Goodall
Remuera is home to some the country’s most expensive houses. Photo / Fiona Goodall
The Koerbers know all about the community, cafés, and all the little nooks and crannies of Remuera, thanks in part to their blended family. There is barely a café, pharmacy or employer of young people in the suburb that hasn’t come across one of their teens over the years. One family favourite is Wilson’s Beach, at the bottom of Victoria Avenue.
When asked what recent listing stands out most, Koerber highlights a house on Darwin Lane, which he sold in April. The modest home, which had an RV of just over $5m, was on the block for the first since the 1980s, and the proceeds of the sale were split between seven charities. It was a heart-warming sale, said Koerber.
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Joel Vieviorka, Karikari Peninsula
Haze agent Joel Vieviorka works in one of New Zealand’s most far-flung real estate markets: The Karikari Peninsula. He describes it simply as “a chillax lifestyle”.
The Vieviorka family moved there from another remote Northland location, drawn by the lifestyle they could offer their young sons. They quickly found the community warm and welcoming. “My family enjoys being a part of the community. There are cool people,” he told OneRoof.
Joel Vieviorka with his dog Joe. He loves the “chillax lifestyle” of Karikari Peninsula. Photo / Supplied
“So many cool beaches, so close. You can launch your boat, take the kids to the beach, or do some surf-casting. It has lots of cool outdoor activities.”
While Northland boasts plenty of great beaches, the Karikari Peninsula takes coastal beauty to another level. Thanks to the peninsula being long and narrow, the list of beaches at your fingertips is almost endless: Tokerau, Rangiputa, Puheke, Maitai Bay. It’s also a short drive to the famous Cable Bay, Coopers Beach, and Hihi Beach.
Whatuwhiwhi is the big smoke for Karikari Peninsula, boasting a shop, petrol station, takeaways, a pub, and Top 10 holiday park.
Vieviorka’s favourite listing this year, a resort-like home on Bay Heights Drive, sold for $850,000 in June. Photo / Supplied
Karikari Peninsula is rich with clear sandy beaches. Photo / Getty Images
The remote nature of his patch means that Vieviorka sells a bit of everything, from million-dollar beach homes to farms and tiny off-grid hideaways. “The housing market is similar to other parts of the country. It’s a buyer’s market. But I reckon we’ve probably done better than some other areas, just because I think people have wanted to move more.”
Vieviorka’s favourite listing of late was a home on Bay Heights Drive. It had magnificent views from the deck, but even better from the veggie garden at the very top of the property. It sold for $850,000 in June.
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Anton Jones, Western Bay of Plenty
Tremains agent and managing director Anton Jones grew up in Tauranga but he loves the quiet lifestyle of the Western Bay of Plenty, which he retreats to after a busy day selling property.
Jones loves outdoors pursuits and reels off a long list of tramping and mountain biking trails, especially the Ōmokoroa to Tauranga cycle trail. He also loves the district’s white sand beaches.
Tremains managing director Anton Jones: “We just enjoy that it’s not so much of a hustle and bustle.” Photo / Supplied
On the market with Tremains and billed as the ultimate country estate is 925 Upper Ohauiti Road, in Ohauiti, Tauranga. Photo / Supplied
“I guess it’s the diversity of the area I love, in terms of you can go to the beach, you can go to the lakes. It’s close to everywhere. The schools are great. We just enjoy that it’s not so much of a hustle and bustle.”
Tauranga and the Western Bay of Plenty are a bit of a golfer’s mecca. Jones is a member of the Fairview Golf Club, but rates them all.
He notes that the market in his patch isn’t booming, but it’s not as “lumpy” as it has been. “It’s pretty steady,” he said.
Jones’ favourite Tremains listing at the moment is 925 Upper Ohauiti Road, Tauranga. The six-bedroom, four-bathroom, 677sqm home is for sale by negotiation. The home’s footprint is bigger than many people’s sections and sits on 2.37ha of land. It is billed as the ultimate country estate and has an RV of $4.09m.
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Laura Cuthill, Dunedin
Nidd agent Laura Cuthill loves that Dunedin folk are friendly and welcoming. She often connects with customers when she takes her Golden Retriever, Bonnie, for her daily walks. “You go for a walk, and you make a friend along the way,” she said.
It helps because Dunedin agents sell across the entire city. “It doesn’t really matter where you live, you can get across the whole of Dunedin in 20 minutes. It’s not such a big city that you feel lonely, but it’s not so small that you know absolutely everyone.”
Dunedin’s size makes it easy to get out of town as well. “I love our ability to go hiking in so many different types of terrain. One minute you’re going through trees, the next you’re down at the beach.”
Nidd agent Laura Cuthill: “It doesn’t really matter where you live, you can get across the whole of Dunedin in 20 minutes.” Photo / Supplied
47 Moana Crescent, in Musselburgh, is Cuthill’s favourite listing right now. Photo / Supplied
It’s also a dog-friendly city. “Bonnie can come just about everywhere with me. She comes to the office. There are so many spots.”
In the summer, Cuthill is involved in swimming events. “We’ve got a really good swim club here. It’s a nice wee community of swimmers. We swim in the harbour a lot of the time. Nice, glassy, flat days in the mornings. There are races out to the islands and back from time to time.”
Cuthill’s favourite listing this year has to be the three-bedroom 1920s brick home she is selling at 47 Moana Crescent, Musselburgh.
“I was dropping flyers three or four years ago and I said to myself, ‘Oh, what I’d give to go in that house’, and lo and behold, I’ve been given the opportunity to market it, which is just so cool.”
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Wanly Tsang, Auckland’s North Shore
Although she wasn’t born in New Zealand, Harcourts Cooper & Co agent Wanly Tsang is a Shore girl through and through. She has lived on Auckland’s North Shore for 30-plus years and has slowly evolved her real estate patch to take in Murrays Bay, Torbay, Pinehill and Schnapper Rock.
There is so much Tsang loves about her patch, but one of the biggies is the friendliness and politeness of the suburbs’ children.
When she drives from her home in Torbay down to her office in Takapuna, Tsang winds around the Bays, meeting up with clients along the way. Each little bay has its own great cafes, and one of her favourites is Euro Patisserie Torbay, which recently won an award for its steak and cheese pie. The pastry is perfectly crispy, said Tsang. “The old Torbay village is very nice.”
Harcourts Cooper & Co agent Wanly Tsang in her beloved North Shore. Photo / Fiona Goodall
Tsang was overjoyed she got $1.425m under the hammer for this family home on Spencer Road, in Pinehill. Photo / Supplied
Another favourite place on the Shore is the Salvation Army’s Albany Bays Community Ministries centre in Rosedale Road. Tsang helps out when she can and especially loves the centre’s evenings for children and the annual blanket drive.
“They do all sorts of things to help people. And also, they have some training classes for families, and at Christmas time, they give out food baskets.”
Tsang often picks up multimillion-dollar listings in her patch. She recently sold a home on Craig Road, in Milford, for $4.12m, and a house on Hurstmere Road, in Takapuna, for $3m. But her favourite listing of recent times was a modest home on Spencer Road, in Pinehill. Three not-so-young-themselves children were selling their father’s home and were just hoping to get $1.1m. “It sold for $1.425m. They were really happy. You feel really good when you do something for people.”
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Gael Van Hattum, Mount Victoria
New Zealand Sotheby’s International Realty agent Gael Van Hattum has lived in Wellington’s Mount Victoria for much of her life and has sold many of the high-end homes in the suburb. “It’s only high-end because I started at the start when everyone was a first-time buyer, and now, of course, they are second, third or fourth-time home buyers. They’ve matured with me and come along for my ride.”
Wellington’s Mount Victoria is New Zealand Sotheby’s International Realty agent Gael Van Hattum’s favourite spot. Photo / Getty Images
This renovated apartment on Chews Lane, in Wellington Central, fetched $600,000 above its RV. Photo / Supplied
Van Hattum loves Wellington and talks enthusiastically about the capital. “I think we’ve got a really good-sized city. If I were asking you to come from [outside Wellington], I would talk about the culture. I’d talk about the waterfront. I would talk about the proximity of everything. I would talk about the fact that public transport is so good that if you don’t want to drive.”
Her favourite listing so far this year was a luxury apartment on Chews Lane, in Wellington Central. “I loved it because it was beautifully renovated and presented. And I just love the vendors who just let me get on with it.” The property sold for $600,000 over its RV.
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Anna Lechtchinski, Avondale
Barfoot & Thompson agent Anna Lechtchinski has made the Auckland suburbs of Mount Roskill and Avondale her patch since emigrating to New Zealand from Poland.
Lechtchinski lived on Walsall Street, in Avondale, for nine years, so knows the area well. “Avondale is like a treasure box. You can buy well and sell well. It’s a place where you can get lucky, and you should get lucky.”
Barfoot & Thompson agent Anna Lechtchinski got $1.6m for this stunning home on Te Wiata Place, in Auckland’s Avondale. Photo / Supplied
Its location is also a drawcard. “It is easy to get from Avondale to any part of town. You’re 8km to the CBD, and it’s very well connected via motorways. It’s a seven-minute drive from Avondale to Point Chev Beach. The New Lynn St Luke’s shopping malls are also nearby.”
One of her most memorable listings in recent months was a home on Te Wiata Place, in Avondale, which sold for $1.6m. “This was a waterfront property with direct access to the river, with its own kayak landing. And just a lovely family home. This is what people love and want in Avondale. Local families wanted to move into this home.”