- Kieran Read's family home in Karaka was snapped up for $2.175 million after being listed in September.
- Parents Terry and Marilyn Read sold the property to downsize and spend more time travelling.
- The new owners were looking to upsize from their small residential home to a lifestyle block with space for their children.
Kieran Read’s parents had something extra special to celebrate when their sons turned up for Christmas – their much-loved family home of 28 years had sold for $2.175 million.
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Terry and Marilyn Read bought the four-bedroom house on Whatapaka Road, in Karaka, almost 30 years ago, and had listed it at the end of last year.
Bayleys' Richie Blackmore, a former Warriors player turned real estate agent, said the "timing couldn’t have been better" because the deal went unconditional just before Christmas - a couple of days before the Read children – Kieran, Gareth and Mark – arrived for an early Christmas celebration.
“They were all flying in that weekend,” Blackmore told OneRoof.
Whatapaka Road, in Karaka, Auckland, was Read's childhood home. Photo / Supplied
A young Read practised kicking rugby balls on the large lawn. Photo / Supplied
“It would have been a good Christmas conversation.”
The Reads paid under $500,000 for the lifestyle block in 1997, and had made the move to give their growing children, including the then-11-year-old Kieran, more room. They even set up rugby posts in the garden for the boys to practice their kicking.
The couple told OneRoof last year that they were selling up after almost 30 years to spend more time in their caravan and visiting their grandkids.
"We've done our dash having animals. We have got a caravan and like to up and go,” Marilyn said.
Blackmore said the couple had yet to find their next home. “Where is close to Hamilton, Palmerston North and Christchurch? Do you go in the middle? Either way, they are going to be closer [to their family], so they are moving south."
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He added: “They are pretty relaxed. They are not in a hurry, and they can just look around. They’ve got the caravan.”
The appeal of living in the childhood home of a former All Blacks captain had appealed to some rugby lovers, but most of the buyer interest in the lifestyle block had come from local families, Blackmore said.
The new owners have primary school-aged children and were looking to move from their smaller residential section in Karaka Harbourside.
“They were looking for something with open spaces, much like the Reads did. That was very important to them – the size of that land. You are looking at around 4ha.”
The new kitchen was the perfect hub for the large family gatherings. Photo / Supplied
Read helped his dad Terry dig the hole for the swimming pool. Photo / Supplied
Blackmore said the estate offered plenty of room for the kids and space to raise animals and possibly add a minor dwelling. Its proximity to ACG Strathallan was also a huge drawcard.
Kieran’s parents said the property held a special place in their hearts. The boys would be kicking the balls over. Being here just gave them a bit of space,” Marilyn told OneRoof last year.
“They played touch rugby and frisbee there. It was also a cricket pitch."
Marilyn said Kieran and his brothers took a shine to physical work on the property. “The boys helped Terry dig our first pool; it is still there," she said.
“Kieran helped a lot with physical stuff. He used to love planting gardens. We had gum trees that needed to be felled, and he would sell firewood. He would be on the end of the axe, and Terry would be on the chainsaw."
The property is close to Drury, where the boys played rugby, and Terry and Marilyn remember busy Saturdays ferrying the kids to sporting matches. “We carted them down there. We’d go three ways on a Saturday morning, all around Franklin and then in Pukekohe in higher grades,” Marilyn said.
Kieran Read played for the All Blacks between 2008 and 2019, leading the squad from 2013. He retired from rugby in 2021.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/life-after-rugby-kieran-read-on-dad-life-head-knocks-and-leadership/MYNN7P3MEO2IW5AWHH54NQKHXE/
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