{"id":598391,"date":"2026-09-12T19:50:17","date_gmt":"2026-09-12T19:50:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/598391\/"},"modified":"2026-09-12T19:50:17","modified_gmt":"2026-09-12T19:50:17","slug":"historic-invercargill-mansion-relisted-for-sale-after-massive-price-cut-all-things-property-under-oneroof","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/598391\/","title":{"rendered":"Historic Invercargill mansion relisted for sale after massive price cut, All things property, under OneRoof"},"content":{"rendered":"

– Invercargill\u2019s Category 1 heritage mansion Lennel House is relisted for $699,000 after a $300,000 reduction.<\/p>\n

– Built in the early 1880s, the eight-bedroom manor retains original features across its 1.29ha grounds.<\/p>\n

– Heritage protections limit alterations and subdivision, but the relisting drew strong local interest.<\/p>\n

A heritage mansion etched in Invercargill\u2019s history is back on the market for sale for $699,000<\/a> \u2013 after a $300,000 price drop.<\/p>\n

Known as Lennel House, the eight-bedroom manor at 102 Albert Street, in Gladstone, has been on and off the market since 2024 and was initially priced at $1m.<\/p>\n

But with the vendors now no longer living at the property, efforts to sell have been redoubled.<\/p>\n

The Category 1 Heritage home is one of the city\u2019s most significant landmarks, dating back to the early 1880s when New Zealand Surveyor-General John Turnbull Thomson cleared part of the Waihopai forest to establish a family homestead and country garden on the 1.29ha property.<\/p>\n

Thomson built a home large enough to accommodate his nine daughters, and it remained in the family\u2019s hands for more than 100 years before changing hands in the early 90s.<\/p>\n

Laura Thompson and her partner Will Finlayson bought the property from Finlayson\u2019s father Denys in 2021, and told OneRoof that the updated price showed they were ready to meet the market.<\/p>\n

Thompson said: \u201cIt\u2019s a very hard property to price \u2013 it\u2019s almost impossible to price. There\u2019s nothing comparable, so we are just trying to be realistic.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Lennel<\/p>\n

The eight-bedroom manor has many of its original features, including native timber. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n

The price reduction reflects the restrictions associated with the property, which limited what can be done to the historic house and gardens.<\/p>\n

Thompson said they loved the house but could not give it the time it deserved.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have three young children and two businesses \u2013 it\u2019s just a very hard time to be able to put in the effort and time that it needs, but for the right person it would be an amazing thing to take on. There\u2019s so much you could do with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

She added: \u201cYou just don\u2019t want to see it sit there. It\u2019s not good for them to be empty. They need airflow and all of that. It would be nice to see somebody else take it on and give it what it deserves.\u201d<\/p>\n

Discover more:<\/p>\n

– Burger King ad house back on market less than a year after $3m-plus sale<\/a><\/p>\n

– Homeowner fights back tears after house of 20 years sells for life-changing sum<\/a><\/p>\n

– ‘People lined up’: The small town where $700,000 buys any house you want<\/a><\/p>\n

Thompson\u2019s in-laws, Denys and Jocelyn Finlayson, bought the property in 1998 at a mortgagee sale (the previous owner bought it off the original family and had only owned it for a few years) and spent more than 20 years renovating it.<\/p>\n

Many of its original features, including intricate coffered ceilings, polished timber floors and marble fireplaces, remain.<\/p>\n

Thompson said she and Will had spruced up the sprawling grounds, which are home to several notable plantings. Among them is a copper beech imported from the UK and planted at Lennel to mark Queen Victoria\u2019s 1897 Diamond Jubilee, while a collection of rhododendrons is protected in the district plan.<\/p>\n

Thompson said the couple had found Heritage New Zealand good to deal with.<\/p>\n

\"Lennel<\/p>\n

The 1.3ha grounds contains some significant historic plantings. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople think because of the covenants and everything it\u2019s too hard \u2013 it\u2019s not,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Ray White agent listing Hannah Mason said the property was well known in the city, with crowds coming out for the first open home since it was relisted on September 2.<\/p>\n

She said cars were parked bumper-to-bumper along the surrounding streets. \u201cIt was the busiest open home we\u2019ve ever had in our real estate career,\u201d McRobie said. \u201cIt\u2019s not your standard three-bedroom, one-bathroom home.\u201d<\/p>\n

The agents said much of the buyer interest had come from the Southland area.<\/p>\n

Among those to view the property were a builder and his wife, who were considering a renovation project of their own, while others saw potential to convert it into a venue.<\/p>\n

There was also interest from out-of-town buyers, but it quickly faded once they realised the heritage protections ruled out any chance of a subdivision.<\/p>\n

– 102 Albert Street, in Gladstone, Invercargill, is for sale for $699,000<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"– Invercargill\u2019s Category 1 heritage mansion Lennel House is relisted for $699,000 after a $300,000 reduction. – Built…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":598392,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1258,111,43,139,69],"class_list":["post-598391","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-latest-news","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/598391","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=598391"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/598391\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/598392"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=598391"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=598391"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=598391"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}