AROUND THE HOME
Estates great and small B
y the time many of our readers pick up a copy of Settling In they’ve already found a home of their own in our region. However, those dipping their toes into the local market before buying or building should take note of some recent developments and trends locally.
SMALL TOWNS, RISING PRICES
Housing stocks may be on the ‘up and up’, but so too are prices, especially in small towns and outlying suburbs of Auckland. In Papakura, for example, the asking price has more than doubled over the last ten years; a decade ago the average home went under the hammer at less than half a million dollars. According to Vanessa Williams from realestate.co.nz, a ‘driving factor’ resulting in growing interest in homes on the Super City’s southern fringe has been rising prices in the central city. House prices have also been increasing sharply in outlying suburbs and rural regions of New Zealand’s other urban centres, but Franklin’s burgeoning subdivisions prove that our area has become popular among those looking for suburban living and investors alike. While Franklin’s urban areas have become a haven for commuters, who need to stay within reach of central Auckland workplaces, the popularity of lifestyle living is another reason urbanites have been looking further afield. Although some parts of our region are best suited to professional farmers and (due to our rich soils) growers, there are still plenty of lifestyle blocks on offer, but prices for these are growing too.
BUILD IT… UP?
Efforts to save our most productive soil are seeing local towns grow up as well as out. Greater intensification in our suburbs and towns is resulting in more apartment blocks becoming par for the course. Allowing for more housing at ‘greater heights and density’, plans appear set to enable the building of apartment structures of six storeys or more within walking distance (between 800 and 1,200 metres) of railways stations and express busways. In addition, in line with changes to the Resource Management Act, housing built up to three-storeys in height can be constructed across most suburbs without resource consent.
IS LIFESTYLE THE NEW TRAVEL?
Why fly away when you could buy a home? An uptick in lifestyle property sales numbers and prices could be heralding a return to greener pastures in more ways than one. Brian Peacocke from the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) believes the pandemic has been, in part, responsible for increased lifestyle property sales. While borders have reopened, the security of a home that can also provide more in the way of leisure while helping stock the fridge, it appears, is proving a drawcard for Franklin. Details regarding everything from property prices to building consents and more can be accessed online via such sites as www.realestate.co.nz, www.reinz.co.nz and www.ourauckland.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz. SETTLING IN 2022-2023 – 33
