{"id":469192,"date":"2026-06-09T23:18:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T23:18:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/469192\/"},"modified":"2026-06-09T23:18:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T23:18:14","slug":"no-more-money-journalists-seaside-retreat-for-sale-after-falling-into-disrepair-all-things-property-under-oneroof","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/469192\/","title":{"rendered":"No more money: Journalists’ seaside retreat for sale after falling into disrepair, All things property, under OneRoof"},"content":{"rendered":"

– A historic Akaroa home is up for auction after falling into disrepair, listed “as is, where is”.<\/p>\n

– The five-bedroom villa, dating back to the 1860s, was used for nearly 60 years as holiday accommodation for journalists.<\/p>\n

– The Corboy House Trust is selling due to financial constraints, seeking a low-maintenance replacement property in Akaroa.<\/p>\n

A historic home in the Canterbury coastal town of Akaroa is heading to auction<\/a> after falling into disrepair. <\/p>\n

Harcourts listing agent Jackie Maw says the “as is, where is” sale of the tired five-bedroom villa at 11 Rue Balguerie<\/a> is a “rare opportunity” to buy one of Akaroa’s landmark homes at an affordable price.<\/p>\n

The property, which dates back to the 1860s and has an RV of $725,000, has been used for nearly 60 years as holiday accommodation for journalists.<\/p>\n

Its life as a retreat began in 1967 after it was bought by a journalist with The Press, David Corboy, who subsequently transferred ownership to the local branch of the former NZ Journalists Association. <\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The villa has been used by journalists and union members as a holiday retreat since the late 1960s. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

Listing agent Jackie Maw says the property has attracted a lot of buyer interest. “It would be great to see it done up.” Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n

It is now administered by the Corboy House Trust – a hat tip to Corboy – on behalf of the union E T\u016b.<\/p>\n

Maw told OneRoof that she chanced upon the listing after chatting to a local Akaroa Mail journalist, who had written an article about the property and was aware the trust might be interested in selling. <\/p>\n

\u201cLong story short, I spoke with [one of the trustees]. The trust has run out of money. The place has fallen into disrepair, and they need it sold,” she said. <\/p>\n

\u201cPart of the condition of sale is that I have to find another property in Akaroa. Something low maintenance and more amenable.” <\/p>\n

Discover more:<\/p>\n

– Cottage with waterfalls up for grabs – like something out of Lord of the Rings<\/a><\/p>\n

– Record-breaking Christchurch agent: ‘I don\u2019t need to prove anything to anybody’<\/a><\/p>\n

– Historic mansion once owned by the people’s mayor for sale ‘as is, where is’<\/a><\/p>\n

Maw said the house had attracted considerable interest. “I had five parties through on the Friday before our first open home. It was a VIP viewing because [the trust] had already been approached by interested locals.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had a mum and dad looking for their son who’s returning from Australia. I’ve had buffs who love projects.\u201d <\/p>\n

She added: \u201cThis is probably one of the most iconic historical properties that’s fallen into disrepair but has come to market. It would be great to see it done up.” <\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The property has an RV of $725,000 and has been pitched as affordable. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n

Maw said the cost-of-living crisis and the war in Iran had boosted interest in Akaroa\u2019s holiday homes because of their proximity to Christchurch. “I’m dealing with a lot of people who are selling up in Queenstown, W\u0101naka, Twizel, and they’re buying here in Akaroa.”<\/p>\n

Corboy House Trust president Austen Calder told OneRoof that he had holidayed at the property for about 15 years and over time had become involved in the trust. <\/p>\n

He said that the trust\u2019s kitty had run dry. \u201cThe value has increased, and the rates and insurances have skyrocketed. I have been dipping into my own pocket for a while, to pay rates [and other costs].\u201d <\/p>\n

– 11 Rue Balguerie, Akaroa, Banks Peninsula, goes to auction on July 2<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"– A historic Akaroa home is up for auction after falling into disrepair, listed “as is, where is”.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":469193,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[1258,111,139,69,213],"class_list":["post-469192","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-latest-news","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/469192","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=469192"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/469192\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/469193"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=469192"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=469192"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=469192"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}