- A 9ha Ngāruawāhia property with near-extinct native forest sold for $1m after six price drops.
- The property features eight ancient kauri trees and was initially listed for just under $1.2m.
- The vendors, who bought it for $525,000 in 2009, can now move north to be closer to family.
A lifestyle block with a near-extinct native forest out the back has finally sold – after six price drops and three failed transactions.
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The 9ha property on Te Puroa Road, in Ngāruawāhia, Waikato, was snapped up for $1 million by a young family from Cambridge.
Lodge listing agent Megan Smith told OneRoof: “It was an affordable lifestyle property and fulfils a dream they had to bring up their children on the land and in a great area.”
A young Cambridge family bought the four-bedroom, two-bathroom lifestyle property. Photo / Supplied
The property, which boasts eight ancient kauri trees, hit the market in April 2024 with an asking price of just under $1.2m.
The vendors were relieved to secure a sale after three earlier transactions fell over. The first two buyers had been unable to get finance, and the third buyer made an offer and then vanished.
Smith said the vendors could now move north to be closer to family. They paid $525,000 for the property in 2009 with plans to establish a free-range egg farm.
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The property, which is a six-minute drive to Ngāruawāhia town centre and 22 minutes from Hamilton’s CBD, comes with a four-bedroom home and various sheds for goats and chickens.
Smith said the native trees are cared for by the QEII National Trust, which has designated them a “significant representation of an almost extinct forest type”.
QEII National Trust regional representative Robbie Bennett told OneRoof last year that it was unusual to have a small stand of mature kauri in the Waikato that hadn’t been felled.
There were various sheds on the property including one for goats and another for chickens. Photo / Supplied
Smith said this was the first time she had sold a property with a near-extinct forest in the backyard. “It’s pretty special."
The Gilbertson family previously owned the property and instigated the covenant for the forest in 1999. The area was fenced, surveyed and registered as a QEII National Trust Covenant in March 2001.
Smith said she was about to list another lifestyle property on Parker Road, in Huntly, which might suit those looking for an affordable property. This was on a smaller section but had the “best views of the river” she had ever seen.
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