- A bad odour in Christchurch's eastern suburbs, linked to the Bromley Wastewater Plant, has caused resident concerns but hasn't affected house prices.
- Real estate agents report no impact on the property market, with prices in Bromley and Aranui continuing to rise.
- Open homes remain busy, with properties in the area considered affordable entry-level options.
Real estate agents have told OneRoof that the foul stench causing grief in Christchurch’s eastern suburbs has yet to dent house prices in the area.
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A bad odour has been wafting around the city's eastern suburbs on and off since a fire destroyed important infrastructure at the Bromley Wastewater Plant in 2021.
In the last few weeks, the smell reappeared, causing nausea and headaches among residents. Christchurch City Council linked the stench to heavy rain affecting pond health at the plant.
Residents of Bromley and neighbouring suburbs voiced their concerns at a heated community meeting earlier this week. RNZ reported that the residents directed their anger at council staff, telling them the smell had driven them indoors.
Houses in Christchurch's east are among the city's most affordable. This three-bedroom home on Buckleys Road, in Linwood, sold last month for $585,000. Photo / Supplied
Some complained that the potential health impacts were not being taken seriously, while others voiced fears that the problem would affect house values in the area.
Real estate agents, who sell in the city's east, told OneRoof that they had yet to notice any impact on the property market at this stage.
OneRoof-Valocity figures show house prices in the largely industrial suburb of Bromley have grown 2.7% in the last year, and 44% in the last five years, with the average property value now sitting at $541,000.
Prices in neighbouring Aranui have risen by 3.3% and 52% over the same period. Like Bromley, it's one of Christchurch's cheapest suburbs, with an average property value of $506,000.
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House value growth in neighbouring Linwood, Woolston and Ferrymead appears more or less the same.
Raine & Horne franchise owner Nick McIsaac-Luke told OneRoof that 95% of his agency’s open homes were on the east side of Christchurch and the smell had not affected them - although it was still early days.
No one had raised the smell as an issue regarding buying and selling, he said. “It’s not even a thought.”
“Maybe it’s just the wind is blowing the right way on that day when we are having the open homes, because when it blows the wrong way, you do smell it, I’m not going to lie.”
An old villa at 1/56 Hay Street is the cheapest property listed for sale in Bromley. It has an asking price of $299,000. Photo / Supplied
A three-bedroom home at 31 Mountbatten Street, in New Brighton, is heading to auction later this month with an RV of $550,000. Photo / Supplied
He added: “If it is an issue in due course, it will be fixed. It may not be fixed the day we want it to be fixed, but it will be.”
McIsaac-Luke said prices in Bromley, Aranui and Linwood were among the lowest in Christchurch, with entry-level houses in the area starting from around $520,000.
Recent sales include a new two-bedroom, one-bathroom townhouse on Stanmore Road, in Linwood, which sold for $522,000, a three-bedroom, two-bathroom home on Buckleys Road, in Linwood, which fetched $585,000, and a three-bedroom, two-bathroom renovated home on Glengyle Place, in Linwood, which sold for $630,000.
“It’s a wicked spot to get on the ladder with a pretty reasonable budget. If you are just trying to scrape in, then it’s not a bad spot to look at.”
Ray White Ferrymead business owner Richard Withy said his agents hadn't noticed any spike in concerns from buyers and sellers about the smell.
“We haven’t seen any huge change,” he said, adding that they had always been some of Christchurch’s cheaper suburbs with a lot of state housing.
“I think if you were to run a campaign or an open home over three weeks on hot sunny days and that problem was there, then there is going to be an impact because people will notice it more.”
Withy told OneRoof that open homes in the city's eastern suburbs – particularly in up-and-coming New Brighton - were busy and several deadlines for property sales had been brought forward.
There are only four properties in Bromley currently listed for sale on OneRoof. The cheapest property is a rundown villa at 1/56 Hay Street, which is asking $299,000, while a three-bedroom, two-bathroom unit at 2/65 Kuaka Crescent is inviting enquiries over $529,000.
A suburb away, a two-bedroom, one-bathroom townhouse at 1/55 Stanmore Road, in Linwood, can be picked up for $521,000. In the slightly more expensive New Brighton, a three-bedroom, two-bathroom home at 31 Mountbatten Street with an RV of $550,000 is going to auction later this month, while a brand new three-bedroom, two-bathroom townhouse at 2/23 Howe Street has an asking price of $659,000.
Griffioen owner Caleb Griffioen said he marketed a lot of properties in and around Bromley. “It’s a lower socio-economic area, but there are still benefits – it’s accessible to the beach. There are good community amenities in the area,” he said.
“A lot of the people [who buy there] might already have connections to the area, they might already be renting in the area, have family living nearby, so there’s that, and they are driven by what they can achieve for their budget. And if they’ve got a budget between $500,000 and $550,000, and they want something standalone and freehold, there aren’t many other suburbs out there where you can find that.”
Aranui and Bromley were initially developed as state housing estates in the 1950s and 1960s and Aranui has by far the largest number of state houses in the city.
However, that was slowly changing as the Government sold off properties deemed not fit for purpose, he said. “We are even seeing some of these former Kāinga Ora homes that are being sold being flipped again, and some of them are achieving quite strong prices once they’ve been renovated.”
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