Dirt-bike track, nightclub cut from dream home specs

Don’t miss Adam Green and Megan Banks (filling in for Sarah van der Kley) on The Hits Hawke’s Bay from 6am to 9am, Monday to Friday

The Hawke’s Bay property market seems to be doing very well — at least that’s what the real estate guides tell me.

So does the paper, and friends who have seen a good rise in the value of their property.

I’m realistic about owning my own property. With three kids in tow and no real-estate empire to my name, it’s a little while away yet. (Though I did look into purchasing a square foot of some odd country through an internet promotion once.)

However, I am well into the “looking at property guides and imagining” phase of life now. As I flicked mindlessly through the front pages of yet another shiny catalogue of dreams, admiring the pools and endless decks stretching out to infinity, I took a moment to think back and look at how much my real estate dreams have changed since I was young.

For example, at age 10, the thing I most wanted in a house, more than anything else, was a lazy river surrounding my property. I imagined summers spent hopping into my inner tube right outside my front door, drifting off around my stream, inviting guests over my drawbridge to come and join the fun.

The drawbridge dream is gone. However, the new watery dream is nice tapware and an extra toilet.

At 15, I wanted a paddock for a dirtbike track. I’d hold weekend sleepovers with all my friends, our own personal races going down, which of course I would win. Revving engines and flying dirt.

Oh, and I don’t imagine I thought I’d have a job to go to either. Now a good garage or even a carport is high on the property agenda.

When I was 20 I thought of turning the basement I would own into a nightclub. Laser lights, pumping sound system and, the icing on the cake, a DJ booth and fridge in the corner.

People would come flocking to try toget into the hottest underground nightclub in town. Heck, maybe I’d even need to hire a doorman at weekends!

Now, a good spot to mount the TV and a solid internet connection is all the entertainment I need.

Even the housing dreams of my 30-year-old self have changed, mainly because now there are a few extra pairs of shoes at the door every day than there were then, so an extra bedroom or four would be nice.

I’m realistic, though, so for now it’s off to the property guide’s front pages — seven bedrooms, six bathrooms, with a pool and home cinema room? Sounds perfect!