New Zealand Houses
There is a lot to get used to when house-hunting or looking for a home to rent in New Zealand – the vast majority of homes are on one level, and semi-detached houses are uncommon. The following article should help you to get a good idea of what you’ll find when you enter the New Zealand property market.
Buying an Existing Home
Existing houses for sale in New Zealand are usually under 100 years old and frequently built after the 1950s. Most existing houses are built of either timber (weather boards) or brick cladding with timber framing. There are also some stucco and concrete block homes. While weatherboard houses can have enormous street appeal, they are often older and can be very high maintenance. Corrugated iron is a common roofing material, as is concrete tile.
Estate agents do not typically produce floor plans of properties for sale or even provide measurements of the rooms, but there are common elements to houses of a similar age, so you’ll soon find your way around.
The typical layout of a house built in the 1950s – 1970s is three good-sized bedrooms with fitted wardrobes, one bathroom with separate loo and laundry, and an open-plan kitchen/dining room and a separate living room. This will typically be detached and single-storey, and on an 800-900 square metre section if it is in the suburbs.
By the late 1960s big full-length windows became more common, and houses were carefully oriented to make the most of the sun. The first (single-glazed) aluminium windows came out at this time.
Even older houses have garages, generally detached from the house. Frequent later additions to this 130 – 150 square metre layout are decks and conservatories. Most homes from this era will have had their bathrooms and kitchens updated, and many will have single-glazed aluminium windows installed.
Houses built from the 1980s onwards are frequently larger, double-storied and have attached garages. En suite bathrooms, walk-in wardrobes and attached double garages are common features. Sections will often be smaller. New building materials such as polystyrene and plaster cladding became common, and roof-lines got more complicated. Unfortunately building standards dropped fairly dramatically at this time, and some building methods and materials have not stood the test of time. You may hear about the “leaky homes” problem when you get here – a number of homes built over the last 5-10 years have leaks into the framing and around windows from badly applied flashings. In the past couple of years building codes have been substantially improved. Although, some New Zealand homes can be cold and damp, and central heating is not common place.
SmarterHomes is a fantastic website with heaps of information about all aspects of property in New Zealand. We urge you to have a thorough inspection on any property you intend to buy – it costs a lot less than an equivalent inspection in the UK, and you can even talk to the building inspector once they have been around the property rather than just receiving a written report. A pre-purchase inspection is very worthwhile and have a look at the National Body of Residential Building Inspectors for more information.
AA House Checks has a very good reputation in Christchurch for their pre-purchase house inspections, and also has some good resources on their website.
NZ Sotheby’s
For a good overview of middle and upper end houses for sale throughtout New Zealand have a look at the NZ Sotheby’s website.
The Lifestyle Block
New Zealanders move house on average every 6-7 years, but a lifestyle block may change hands several times in that period. If you do decide to buy one of these blocks of rural land (generally subdivided from larger farms), do your homework very carefully – have a definite plan for what you will use the land for, and have a good understanding of how much time it will take to maintain.
You also need to consider schools, work opportunities , commuting , amenities and social life before heading for the country – even if, as is common in New Zealand, the country is only a 20-minute drive from the centre of town.
You can find more information on the Lifestyle Block website.
Building a House
Building your own home is still an achievable dream for many New Zealanders, and has proven very tempting for many immigrants. Don’t expect acres of identical red-brick homes though – developers typically sub-divide blocks of land into sections then sell these on to builders or private buyers.
Subdivisions can range in size from 6-8 houses to hundreds of houses. The builder then spec-builds a home or sells on a land-and-house package; a private buyer can arrange with the builder of their choice to have a home built. Plans are subject to local council by-laws and covenants on larger subdivisions, but there is typically a huge range of building styles and materials used.
Some single sections in existing residential areas do become available to build on, but this is often an expensive way to buy land as you will be competing with developers looking to build town houses.
When building your own home, many large building companies have literally hundreds of plans you can choose from, and often have show homes you can visit.
There is often a large degree of specification available even within the existing plans – you can literally ask that particular walls are moved along a few inches. Alternatively, you can have a home designed from scratch to your exact specifications.
We’ve listed some of the the larger building companies below – they generally have an extensive range of sample plans posted on their websites.
To find out more, request a free copy of our Financial and Pension guides for New Zealand.