From page 1 // Homebuyer tries different tack in hunt

[it] makes it a bit of a problem,’’ Shaw said.

Shaw said after living in Christchurch for a while, he decided to move back to his home town of Blenheim after missing the people and outdoor lifestyle opportunities in Marlborough.

‘‘I moved back to Blenheim because it’s where I want to be.

‘‘The people are a lot more honest, you can take them at their word, and also the lifestyle, I love hunting and fishing in the area.

‘‘But moving back to Blenheim from the big city, I thought it’d [housing situation] be a bit different here,’’ he said.

Shaw said he’d had no joy so far with his advertisement placed at the roundabout next to New World so was considering finding a new spot somewhere along Alabama Road.

‘‘I just want to get the word out there that I’m looking for a house. That’s why I made the sign,’’ he said.

Shaw said, being a builder, he wasn’t too bothered about the state of the property, he just wanted a ‘‘three-bedroom house, with a big yard in Blenheim’’.

‘‘Obviously, being a builder, I want one that needs a bit of work, rather than one that’s ready and paying top dollar,’’ he said.

With a budget of $450,000 ready to go, Shaw said he was still hopefully of eventually finding a home to call his own in the town he loves.

‘‘It’s hard out there, so it would be great if someone wanted to give me a crack,’’ he said.

According to the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ), the median house price in Marlborough for June 2022 was $720,250, up 2% from June 2021, but under the record all-time high of $764,000 recorded in April earlier this year.