- Tim Frampton highlights Invercargill’s appeal to young and older buyers, emphasising affordable housing and lifestyle.
- A four-bedroom home at 22 Fairview Avenue, Hawthorndale, is listed for $739,000.
- Invercargill offers high employment, great weather, and amenities like an indoor velodrome and stadium.
They are coming for the cheap houses, but young first-time buyers and older buyers are surprised by how much else Invercargill has to offer, said Property Brokers agent Tim Frampton.
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He is selling a four-bedroom, two-bathroom home with Art Deco vibes at 22 Fairview Avenue, in Hawthorndale, for $739,000.
For that, you get a joyful house with a groovy staircase and indoor-outdoor flow worthy of holding a disco party, Frampton said.
The property was built in the 50s but has been given a modern makeover by the vendors. Photo / Supplied
The house is filled with light and has an easy flow. Photo / Supplied
It’s the kind of house that might have a seven-figure price in Auckland, to which Frampton said: “You should all move down here; it's the best place in the world to live. High employment, great weather. It’s got everything going for it. No traffic, no harbour bridge. $739,000 – look what you can buy.”
The house at 22 Fairview Avenue was built in 1957, according to OneRoof records, and the vendors have tastefully renovated it and the outdoor area to modern standards.
“It’s definitely got the curves. It’s on the north side of the road, so it looks out onto the backyard. It’s a very light house. It gets a lot of light, sunlight, upstairs and downstairs,” Frampton said.
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“It’s got a really cool vibe when you walk into it. You just want to get down and groove. You could have a good disco, you’d go wild. It’s just cool, and it’s different.”
For Invercargill, the property was mid-range, with upmarket houses selling from $1 million to $1.6m.
Upmarket properties tended to be newer houses built from the 2000s onwards. Being Invercargill, which can get pretty chilly, you probably won’t get a pool for that, but you might get a spa pool, Frampton said.
The staircase and glass walls at 22 Fairview Avenue are standout features. Photo / Supplied
“You’ll get a nice modern house, four bedrooms, two bathrooms, three toilets, double internal access garage, anything from 250 to 300 square metres, double-glazed, modern.”
Entry-level in Invercargill is anything from $350,000 to $600,000, and for that, you get a standard home.
At the time of writing, Frampton said he had few listings on offer because “we’ve sold everything".
“The market is pretty hot down here. Employment’s high. It’s just an awesome place to live,” he told OneRoof.
People were coming from all over the country to live there, including older people returning from Australia because they had family there, as well as Aucklanders and Wellingtonians.
“Younger people are coming because they can get on the property ladder, and older people are coming back because it’s a slower pace of life and properties are reasonably priced.
Invercargill is one of New Zealand’s most affordable cities for housing, and has seen a spike in demand as a result. Photo / Getty Images
“Everyone’s surprised by Invercargill. You look at what we’ve got - we’ve got an indoor velodrome, we’ve got an indoor stadium, we’ve got a beach five minutes away, you can jump on the plane and fly to Auckland direct, you can go to Fiordland an hour and a half away. It’s the place to live.”
Oreti Beach was good for swimming, but Frampton pointed out the wind could be cold with the Antarctic chill factor. “Most of the time it’s fine. It depends on which way the wind is blowing and stuff. You can drive along it. You can go to Riverton on it, which is about 40Ks away, on a mountain bike.
“We’ve got great mountain bike tracks, we’ve got everything down here. Have I sold it to you yet?”
- 22 Fairview Avenue, Hawthorndale, Invercargill, is for sale for $739,000
