Ritzy city streets revealed
Palmerston North is home to Manawatu¯ -Whanganui’s most expensive street, where homes are worth almost four times the average house price, new data shows.
Fairway Gr in Hokowhitu comes out top in a list compiled by Homes.co.nz, with a median estimated house value of $1.14 million. This was a 14.2 per cent increase on last year, propelling the street into the top spot from 2016’s third place.
Homes.co.nz spokesman Jeremy O’hanlon said the list was a bit of fun, to show off how much more data was available for home buyers compared with even two years ago. The figures also highlighted how big a value gap there was between Manawatu¯ ’s priciest streets and the average house price.
‘‘With properties worth upwards of $1.3m on some of these streets, some owners are sitting on properties worth three to four times the [average] value of a home in the area.’’
The region’s top five priciest streets are all in Palmerston North – Fairway Gr, Pastoral Lane, Riverstone Gr, Valley Views and Caccia Birch Lane.
Fairway Gr resident Peter Hoult knew he lived in a nice neighbourhood, but hadn’t realised it was the priciest street in the region.
The most valuable home on the street was worth $1.335m. That’s 3.5 times the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand’s latest average house price for the city.
Hoult’s home was the next most expensive on Fairway Gr.
‘‘It’s a very nice house, and a good street.
‘‘It’s very private there, so there’s no riff-raff driving up and down the street making noise at night.’’
Hoult didn’t think of himself as particularly well off. But he acknowledged he’d done pretty well for himself since starting a construction company in Foxton, as an eager 22-year-old, 65 years ago.
He’s the original Hoult of Hoults Contractors, and built it into one of the biggest construction firms in the region, he said.
Hoult and his partner, Kay Hemmingson, were among the
first people to move into Fairway Gr 12 years ago.
‘‘I had the pick of the sections, and our house was the first to actually go up, I think.’’
When they had the two-storey house built, they put in a lift because the couple have each had hip or knee replacements. But Hoult’s favourite feature was the home’s four verandas.
It meant he could almost always find a sunny spot to relax and look out over the Manawatu¯ River after a hard day at the office, he said.
Professionals real estate agent Eileen Farquhar specialises in high-value property. Just over 40 per cent of all the homes sold for more than $800,000 in Palmerston North last year were sold by her.
She was a little surprised Barich Lane in Aokautere hadn’t made the top five. There were only a handful of houses on the street, and one sold for $1.95m in March, she said.
But Fairway Gr was a very nice cul-de-sac, with a string of highend apartments. And its location right next to the Manawatu¯ Golf Club added a lot of value to homes on the street.
Farquhar said the area around Ihaka and Te Awe Awe streets was one of the city’s most desirable spots, with some very high-value homes. The second and fifth priciest streets, Pastoral and Caccia Birch lanes, branch off there and extend down to the Hokowhitu Lagoon.
‘‘There are a few houses with nice lagoon views, there. A good property on the lagoon will always sell well.’’
The Real Estate Institute of New Zealand recorded 19 Palmerston North homes sold for more than $1m in 2016. This year, there were eight sold before September.
‘‘Last year was a huge year [for the upper end of the market], but this year has been quite a bit harder.’’
Clients had told Farquhar they weren’t keen to buy or sell because of the uncertainty associated with the general election.
‘‘If people are worried about having to pay capital gains tax, or when they might have to pay death duties, depending on who gets in, their investment may be curbed.’’
The enthusiasm might return in the upper end of the market later this year, depending on who forms the Government, she said.