He is marketing a 1940s relocated villa<\/a> that once had an address in the desirable central city suburb, and while details about the big move to Makarau \u2013 about 17 minutes from Warkworth and an hour or so from Grey Lynn – were scarce, Newman says the renovated four-bedroom home has been in place since about 2000.<\/p>\n At 9.74ha, it\u2019s on a much larger section than its old home in the city, yet Newman says it won\u2019t cost nearly as much as a Grey Lynn villa today \u2013 and making your own brunch is not that hard.<\/p>\n \u201cYou know what? You’ve got the feijoas and the apples and the bananas, so you can easily go out the back, grab some fruit off your orchard, or some eggs from your hen barn and whip up some banana bread or some feijoa crumble and whatever else.\u201d <\/p>\n Makarau was traditionally dairy country and now features many lifestyle blocks with agents saying the area has lots to offer. <\/p>\n Properties for sale range from the run-down to the classy: there’s a shed<\/a> on a piece of land which the vendors began turning into their dream home before circumstances changed, and there is a small subdivision<\/a> of lifestyle blocks up for grabs with views of the Kaipara Harbour. <\/p>\n The West Coast Road villa was relocated from Grey Lynn and placed in the middle of a 9.7ha lifestyle block. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n The vendors have run weddings at the property, and so too could the new owners. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n Newman says living in the relocated villa he has listed at 306 West Coast Road is an easy drive to Warkworth, Silverdale and Albany. \u201cIt’s all about that lifestyle – spending time with your family doing things that you want to be doing rather than sitting in the car going from errand to errand,” he tells OneRoof. <\/p>\n \u201cNow you can slow down and spend the time with the family, spend the time on yourself.\u201d <\/p>\n 306 West Coast Road,<\/a> he says, lends itself to home and income possibilities, such as a wedding venue. Newman says the vendors hosted a very cool wedding there: \u201cThey extended the lawn to create an Infinity Lawn out to the cows and the animals, and set up a tent and hay bales and created an aisle. It was pretty epic, actually.\u201d <\/p>\n Newman has been looking into glamping tents, saying buyers could perhaps create something similar to the boutique Green Tent<\/a>, a Mongolian-style yurt in Matakana, or just have the property for family and raise some animals. <\/p>\n Discover more:<\/p>\n – Omaha Sculptureum for sale: Art estate looking for $20m-plus buyer<\/a><\/p>\n – Glue Brothers’ historic mansion for sale – ‘it’s going to survive anything’<\/a><\/p>\n – Retirees turn to New Zealand’s ‘revoltingly affordable’ dot towns as costs bite<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cMakarau is the perfect place for it. It’s got a beautiful little community. It\u2019s close to the Ahuroa Fire Station, where they run lots of community events. The school bus goes by and picks up all the rural school kids. There’s a good equestrian community if you’re into horses.<\/p>\n \u201cSo lots to love. Obviously, you’re close to the largest harbour in the southern hemisphere – that\u2019s the Kaipara Harbour. You’re close to Gibbs [Sculpture] Farm, which is just down the road. <\/p>\n \u201cThere’s just so much going for it in that area. It\u2019s an unknown area that’s super close to Auckland, whether you want to go up north to your bach and the beaches or you want to go overseas and you head on down to the airport, you’re kind of away from everything but close enough if you need it.\u201d <\/p>\n A lot of people from Auckland\u2019s North Shore, and some from the central city suburbs, buy up this way, Newman says. \u201cLots of boomers moving up out of the city, downsizing and cashing out from their properties, so they can retire and live a quieter life with some cash in the bank account.\u201d <\/p>\n Also up for grabs in Makarau is a run-down shed on a 1ha block at 138 Wech Access Road. It is looking for offers over $555,000. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n Farmers move there, too, from bigger farms, downsizing but still wanting to \u201ctinker\u201d. <\/p>\n Ray White agent Peter Morton has a more rundown property on the market<\/a>, consisting of a shed and a tiny secondary unit on a hectare of land, for offers over $555,000. <\/p>\n The vendors bought the property about a year ago and were excited, planning to turn it into a lifestyle home, but their circumstances changed, he said.<\/p>\n Agents spoke of a perception problem with Makarau: people think it\u2019s in the wop wops, but it\u2019s closer than you think. <\/p>\n Morton says the area has become more recognised as everything pushes out. Twenty years ago Dairy Flat, about 35 minutes away, was considered a secondary location to Coatesville, he says. <\/p>\n \u201cSlowly but surely it’s moved out from Dairy Flat to Waitoki and then on out further from Wainui.\u201d <\/p>\n Warkworth is the closest township to Makarau, so those who want coffee and brunch don\u2019t have far to go, but there are no shops in the rural area itself, he says. <\/p>\n Bayleys is selling house and land packages at 199 Tuhirangi Road, in Makarau. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n The agency just sold a new-build property on Tuhirangi Road for over $1.2m. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1d8622e158dc91c9b0ef343627f04270.jpg\")
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