[TrentBridge]

I know we are very early on in the process of moving, but I have a burning question (or two) that won't go away!!

Is it possible to buy a piece of land to build a house and have a reasonable garden within 20 min drive of Christchurch? I've seen sections for sale on the web, but are these all bits of people's back gardens?? We would not want to be surrounded by other houses (just like everyone else)!

The alternative would be to buy a house with a reasonable sized garden. The problem here seems to be that from what I've read there seem to be a lot of houses that are cold in the winter (don't like being cold)!!.

Any comments gratefully received:)

S

[benandclare]

You're probably going to have to be 30 mins out to find one but also remember you may find a fantastic section with glorious views but should the land adjacent to be built on there will be no recourse to object to them blotting out your view. For this reason we chose to buy house with larger than most garden in already built up area, if that makes sense.

Not sure about how cold it's going to be as heading into our first winter but aiming to put extra insulation in roof and see how it goes :D

[Nick88]

If you build a house it will be insulated, only older places are not (yet).

[Paul Blears]

Christchurch is a cold place in the winter, and is also smog-capital of the Southern Pacific. If you want a warm house then build. New regs now mean that the minimum insulation has been ramped up..eg double glazing and loft insulation mandatory. If you are prepared to live out of town, then you should be able to get a decent section, but smaller land areas are the norm nowadays. Expect to pay 350-450K for 3ooo sq mtrs.
Cheers,
Paul.

[Nick88]

Expect to pay 350-450K for 3ooo sq mtrs.

Yikes! Is that for a bare section, Paul? You can get a hectare or two for half that in Northland, and the winters are alot milder.

[willsken]

If you are prepared to live out of town, then you should be able to get a decent section, but smaller land areas are the norm nowadays. Expect to pay 350-450K for 3ooo sq mtrs.
Cheers,
Paul.

Wow, Christchurch is expensive! We paid 75k an acre for our plots in Central Hawke's Bay! :exit

[Familyofmonkeys]

We have bought a nice piece of land with a view that cannot be built out, about 20 minutes drive outside Christchurch....we timed it and it is definitely 20 minutes, 25 max!

http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=14583

Not all of the original photos I posted are still there....but I have left the best one of the view on there!!

[Familyofmonkeys]

Expect to pay 350-450K for 3ooo sq mtrs.


Also, we didn't pay anywhere near this much money. Won't give figure out on open forum, but we bought just a shade under 2 acre, with water, electric, phone to boundary and will need septic tank putting in (same for most rural area and not at all expensive)....PM if you want more details!

[Super_BQ]

Do you mean 20 mins to DOWNTOWN Christchurch? I would think anywhere 15Kms away from city centre is at least 20 minutes to drive during rush hour.

Expect to pay a lot more for what you're looking for. Heaps of sections further away but think about the cost of fuel in 10 - 20 years time. Overseas in metropolis places, people live in apartments or small sections not because they don't a garden but simply because, it's not economically efficient. This will be an enduring problem with NZ that everyone wants a full size section with neighbors far away. With the lack of efficient infrastructure (road ways), it's only going to get worse.

BQ

[benandclare]

Do you mean 20 mins to DOWNTOWN Christchurch? I would think anywhere 15Kms away from city centre is at least 20 minutes to drive during rush hour.

Expect to pay a lot more for what you're looking for. Heaps of sections further away but think about the cost of fuel in 10 - 20 years time. Overseas in metropolis places, people live in apartments or small sections not because they don't a garden but simply because, it's not economically efficient. This will be an enduring problem with NZ that everyone wants a full size section with neighbors far away. With the lack of efficient infrastructure (road ways), it's only going to get worse.

BQ

We live 15k from centre of town and it takes us 20 mins to get there when it's not rush hour.

Given that petrol is going up in price do you think there is scope for the development of bio fuels or alternative fuels?

[TrentBridge]

Thanks guys for all your posts. Very helpful :yes .

S

[Nick88]

Given that petrol is going up in price do you think there is scope for the development of bio fuels or alternative fuels?

You can either put it in your car and burn it, or eat it. At the moment affluent greens are putting it in their cars, and poor people in third world countries aren't eating it.

We are not going to run out of oil. Canada has more oil than the Middle East, it is just more expensive to extract.

[Moorf]

For info, we've got a 1700sqm plot of land we're looking to sell. Here in Waddington (50 mins to central Chch) it'll probably sell for up to $110k with power and phone "nearby".

[Nick88]

For info, we've got a 1700sqm plot of land we're looking to sell. Here in Waddington (50 mins to central Chch) it'll probably sell for up to $110k with power and phone "nearby".

If you subdivide isn't the power and phone supposed to be run to the boundary by the vendor? From there it's the buyer that pays for running it to the house site.

[Moorf]

According to our agent, because it's already subdivided and registered as rural plot we can sell "as is". I will double check, it's not on market yet, and I've been a bit hacked off with the agent as it is.... cheers.