[petri]

What are the best web sites to check out the market for upscale real estate, both for sale and rental? Any sites that would show all the agents?

We are looking mostly at Auckland at this point. What are the "most upscale areas" there?

Ideally we'd rent for a year or so and buy when we know where and what. I think we're looking for the right place so I'd rather stay 6 months in a hotel than buy or rent something we don't want at the end.

I know about premium.co.nz and I've looked bayleys.co.nz a bit but it already requires some knowledge about the areas. I've already got the impression that Herne Bay, Remuera, Orakei/Mission Bay/St. Heliers are quite fine neighbourhoods -- right?

[YouMeAndThree]

We found the book "Where to live in Auckland" very informative. Luckily we were given a copy by our bank when we opened a NZ account in the UK. Once we'd selected suitable areas we then used trademe.co.nz to get an idea of what was available (many agents use trade me).

[sizzlingbadger]

Not sure about the areas of Auckland but here are a few more websites for you to have a look at :-

www.open2view.co.nz
www.realeastate.co.nz
www.trademe.co.nz
nz.helpsellmyproperty.net/ - this is a good one to register for as you can see what has sold in the areas you're looking at, it is Harcourts driven so not all the properties are listed.

These are all mainly sites for buying houses although trademe does have a rental section.

Good luck, great to see you're doing your homework :nice1

[dharder]

Yes, I found 'Where to live in Auckland' very helpful and informative, too.

Apart from that, there's

www.barfoot.co.nz
www.raywhite.co.nz
www.harcourts.co.nz

But I have no experience with any of these as a renter or buyer (though I seem to be forever stuck behind buses that tell me that the first of those three is selling the most places in Auckland)

Good luck with the house hunt,

Daniela

[Duncan74]

Not sure about the areas of Auckland but here are a few more websites for you to have a look at :-
www.realeastate.co.nz




Just a minor edit :- http://www.realestate.co.nz/

[ColeyNZ]

Petri,

These links are what I used that I found to be quite helpful:

Frommers general overview of the neighbourhoods:
http://www.frommers.com/destinations/auckland/0070025074.html

But this little link was my go to when determining where we were gonna stay when we moved from ChCh to Auckland:

http://www.auckland-suburb-guide.co.nz/

As for real estate sites, I usually stick with realestate.co.nz because Harcourts, Bayleys, Barfoot, and Premium all advert on there. It's the hub of all homes you will find online in NZ. And whats nice is RE gives you the listing number; if it begins with ABN its Premium, if its a 9 digit number it's Bayleys, if it begins with MRE it's well MRE and etc. The only exception to this is Trademe.co.nz which is the Craigslist of NZ. Even though you are searching for premium properties, Trademe has to be included in your search. I suggest due diligence always but you really only need RE & Trademe until you are ready to buy. Then when you are ready to buy, contract a realtor so you can find all the properties you can see.

As for neighourhoods, it really all depends if you are working or not and what you are looking for. Like this is the template we used:

1. Size of home: 300m2 min 500m2 max
2. Heat
3. Section size: 2 ha min, 17 ha max (you will not find lots this size in AKL though)
4. Slope of lot
5. View
6. School distance
7. Grocery store distance
8. People distance
9. Hospital distance

etc...

Coming from the US, which I think you are, it is so different here for us. The lifestyle sections are immense when you get out of the city and the suburbs, especially if you head south. If you aren't familiar with what size a ha is, think of a 1/4 mile track. The space inside is a bit over a ha. Your average lifestyle section is about 4 of those on the north island and 12-20 on the south island.

Also, the houses tend be quite large here as well once you get over the 300m2. Typically you can add another "0" to the house sizes and get an approximate for the square footage. So if you see a 500m2 house, think 5,000 sq feet (it's actually about 5,400 but close enough). The ceilings also tend to be around 10 foot ceilings, if not pitched, arched or cathedral so even in 300m2 houses, there tends to be this massiveness that is so unlike anything you will find in the US or norther Europe.

As for neighbourhood recommendations, these are the ones that I personally liked (in no particular order):

1. Devonport
2. Remeura
3. Albany
4. Mt. Eden
5. Epsom
6. Parnell
7. Mission Bay
8. Royal Oak
9. St. Heliers

But really, you have to visit. Each person gets their own vibe from each neighbourhood. Then there are schools as well to think about. But if I were to make Auckland my permanent home, I would probably live in either Mt. Eden/Epsom which is really right next to Remmers or Parnell which is quite close to the CBD.

And one more thing: How close to the CBD do you want to be? Google Maps is your friend and you will need to study. Auckland is quite spread out... it feels like 10 cities...

[ColeyNZ]

And then I didn't even mention Waiheke island which HAS to be included whenever you talk about premium properties in Auckland. And then there is the Rodney district up north which most people would say that if they had to do it over again, they would go up north to Rodney starting in Coatesville going up to Dairy Flat to be in some of the most beautiful country you have ever seen or Red Beach & Orewa to be near the water.

Basically it's a ton of choices, all within an hour or so of the CBD.

[osmyth]

Another For Sale/Rental site for when you've decided on suburbs :

http://www.suburbview.co.nz/

[ColeyNZ]

I'm going to be in the US till March, but once I get back if you need a drive around, just let me know.

[YouMeAndThree]

Coming from the US, which I think you are,



I don't think Helsinki, Finland is in the US ;):D

[petri]

Thanks for all the links! Now I have some surfing to do rest of the week!

We drove around Auckland a bit in february, even visit Bettjemans Hair Spa in Orakei as we felt NZ was better for nordic hair than South America or Asia. Obviously the first thing we will be doing is to drive around and visit the actual houses in the market. Friends and our current house are the main reasons not to leave to NZ so we'll be picky at first..

Ideally we'd look for a nice pool, sea view, the higher elevation the better, modern architecture, high ceilings, warm, but we don't really need a lot of m2. We prefer m3 over m2. Walking distance to cafes and restaurants is always a plus, we don't need to be near CBD.


Coming from the US, which I think you are, it is so different here for us.

.. but I have to ask, where did you get the idea we are from the US? ;-)

[ColeyNZ]

I don't think Helsinki, Finland is in the US ;):D

Oh, well look at that. I swear I didn't see that before, in fact I thought it was left blank up until just now.

[ColeyNZ]

Thanks for all the links! Now I have some surfing to do rest of the week!

We drove around Auckland a bit in february, even visit Bettjemans Hair Spa in Orakei as we felt NZ was better for nordic hair than South America or Asia. Obviously the first thing we will be doing is to drive around and visit the actual houses in the market. Friends and our current house are the main reasons not to leave to NZ so we'll be picky at first..

Ideally we'd look for a nice pool, sea view, the higher elevation the better, modern architecture, high ceilings, warm, but we don't really need a lot of m2. We prefer m3 over m2. Walking distance to cafes and restaurants is always a plus, we don't need to be near CBD.



.. but I have to ask, where did you get the idea we are from the US? ;-)


Right on.

I thought you were American because you didn't post like you were british...:exit

Based upon what you posted though I would look at the Orakei to St. Heliers area first, and then from there I would recommend Oneroa on Waiheke as well as Devonport on the North Shore.

[Jolie]

we felt NZ was better for nordic hair than South America or Asia

Okay, I'll bite... what does that mean? I'm mystified.


:confused:

[Mgee]

As a fellow Finn I can answer: us Finns tend to have quite fine and slippery hair and in many cases also stubbornly straight, and in those parts of the world where the predominant hair type is something completely else (strong/coarse/curly/etc. etc.) it's very hard to find a hairdresser who can cut the nordic hair type well. For example I had my worst haircut ever in Paris, presumably because the dominant hair type there is much stronger and a bit coarser. The cut might have worked well with that kind of hair, but on me it looked just awful...:wah

My friends from London curse the hard water there and the "London hair" it gives, but for me the hard water there is a blessing as it makes my hair a bit coarser and thus a lot more manageable :)