- Two historic buildings in Mangaweka, resembling wild west structures, were sold to buyers from Levin.
- Bayleys agent Elisabeth Bunn received widespread interest, with her reel garnering 200,000 views.
- The buyers plan to renovate and live sustainably, while the sale was hailed as “marvellous” for the town.
Two historic buildings with a bit of cowboy charm have sold in the tiny North Island town of Mangaweka.
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The commercial buildings, which looked as if they’d been teleported from the wild west, were snapped up by a couple of buyers from out of town.
Bayleys listing agent Elisabeth Bunn had big hopes the properties at 14-16 Broadway would sell at auction on July 4. However, due to council restrictions and the condition of the old shops, buyers needed more time to do their due diligence.
The buildings have a wild west vibe and attracted interest from around New Zealand and overseas. Photo / Supplied
OneRoof’s article about the more than 100-year-old properties was one of the most read this year, and Bunn’s reel advertising the buildings had 200,000 views.
She told OneRoof she was inundated with calls from around New Zealand and overseas. “One was travelling around South Africa. Another was in Europe.”
Former residents took trips down memory lane after seeing the listing. “Good old days of dirt roads,” wrote one. “I remember when Mangaweka was a bustling little town. We lived at the north end of the main street. There was a picture theatre, a draper, and a grocery store,” wrote another.
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Somebody thought the properties could be used as a movie set. “This will be bought by Warner Brothers,” posted one Facebook user.
Bunn had marketed the buildings as a blank canvas with potential for “renovators, investors, or dreamers ready to reimagine”.
Interest came from owner-occupiers and developers, although council requirements around firewalls and earthworks put off some potential buyers. “If you wanted to demolish the buildings and start digging, you need to go to archaeology,” Bunn told OneRoof.
On the market for $279,000-plus is a four-bedroom house at 2 Broadway, Mangaweka. Photo / Supplied
A lifestyle property at 6272 State Highway 1, Mangaweka, is for sale for $550,000. Photo / Supplied
The properties, which sit on 1455sqm of land, were picked up by a couple from Levin, more than 100km away. “The buyers are looking to move in, add value to the property, live there, and be self-sustainable,” Bunn said. “They’re at retirement age. They just want to settle down, do them up slowly, and just live a slow pace of life.”
Bunn said she couldn’t discuss the sale price until settlement.
Alison Dorrian, chair of the Mangaweka Historical Society, said the result was "marvelous” for the town, which has a population of less than 200.
Dorrian told OneRoof that Mangaweka had just been through a mini-sales boom. Currently, there are two properties for sale there: A four-bedroom home at 2 Broadway is looking for buyers with $279,000-plus and another four-bedroom live-work home at 6272 State Highway 1 has an asking price of $550,000.
Mellonsfolly Ranch, a reproduction of an 1890s Wyoming frontier town in Ruapehu, is up for grabs. Photo / Supplied
More than 100km north of Mangaweka is a better-known example of wild west real estate, Mellonsfolly Ranch, a replica cowboy town which has been on the market for almost three years.
Bayleys agent Knud Bukholt, who is selling the replica 1890s western Wyoming town, built in 2006, has said he has received interest from around the world. The ranch has an RV of $2.1 million, and is being sold by the estate of late Whanganui philanthropist Rob Bartley, who had previously tried to sell the property in 2020 for US$7.5m.
Mellonsfolly Ranch was founded by John Bedogni, the wealthy co-founder of Metropolitan Glass, who was captivated by the television westerns of his 1960s childhood, including Gunsmoke and Bonanza, and created a town that replicated the look and feel of the Wild West.
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