New Zealanders Lured to Unconventional Spaces

MEDIA RELEASE

1 February 2007

New Zealanders Lured to Unconventional Spaces

For more than two-thirds of New Zealanders, the lure of living in a converted warehouse reigns supreme, according to new survey findings from allrealestate.co.nz.

allrealestate.co.nz’s online survey of 200 people found the yuppie pad of choice–a converted warehouse–topped the list of favourite building conversions, followed by the quirky fire station. Converted lighthouses came third and the rural folks’ favourite, the barn, came fourth (see table below).

Top 10 most popular alternative spaces respondents would likely consider living in:

Rank Alternative Dwelling % of respondents who are likely to consider
1 Warehouse 61.11
2 Fire station 61.11
3 Lighthouse 54.44
4 Barn/Shed 54.44
5 Church 51.11
6 Office conversion 48.89
7 Pub / hotel 47.78
8 Boat 45.56
9 Post office 44.44
10 Train/train station 38.89

Least popular among property seekers are converted hospitals which ranked last in the field of 23 different types of converted structures surveyed. Some respondents labelled these conversions as 'characterless', although 60.87% thought a hospitals conversion would provide for reasonable living space and floor layout.

Shaun Di Gregorio, General Manager of allrealestate.co.nz says when it comes to unconventional homes, New Zealanders’ aren’t easily swayed. “It doesn’t matter how unique a building is, New Zealanders’ stick to the basics: size, location and cost.”

“Location and budget are key factors, but eight out of 10 people consider the actual floor space and layout of the building as the number one motivating factor to live in an alternative space. This is where the converted warehouse pulls its popularity over others,” he noted.

Gender, age and marital status of property seekers has a big impact on their property of choice.

More women (65.22%) than men (34.78%) would likely consider living in an unconventional space, with 58.62% opting for a fire station as their number one choice for a converted space. Sixty-eight per cent of men ranked a converted warehouse as their top choice.

Office conversions, house converted into flats and fire stations appealed to single people and cohabiting couples who are typically in the 18-35 age-bracket. Skewed to the older age-bracket, married couples preferred a barn/shed, a warehouse conversion or a lighthouse as they tend to be converted into a large, single property.

“Finding the right property to rent or buy can be stressful at the best of times. Trying to find something a little more unusual can be even trickier,” Di Gregorio added.

“These types of properties aren’t on the market every day but searching online to get a feel for what’s available is a great place to start.
Online, home hunters can virtually sift through the properties before you actually going to one in person. It’s much easier and faster to compare locations, properties, prices and availability online.

For an ‘old dunger’ or properties that are still in the raw - that is, not already ‘converted’, Di Gregorio suggests looking at a commercial property website like realcommercial.co.nz.

“realcommercial.co.nz has a wide variety of properties from offices, retails shops, warehouses, factories and the like that are ripe for the converting and what’s more, if space is what you’re after, you can search by floor area.”

Although there are many benefits of living in unconventional home like character, space and individuality, over two thirds of people fear they could face difficulties with structural and building related issues (70.49%) and potential councils and community issues surrounding heritage overlays (53.57%).

Many people think a heritage listing dooms a property to low economic returns. This couldn’t be further from the truth says Di Gregorio.” Heritage buildings have great investment potential, primarily by attracting high-paying, and high-quality, tenants.”

“There are even developers who specialise in heritage buildings, seeing their inherent longevity in strength and style as far better than that of a new building - red tape and restrictions don't even come into it.”

To see one of the converted spaces currently listed on allrealestate.co.nz visit: www.allrealestate.co.nz/103088803

About allrealestate.co.nz
allrealestate.co.nz has grown dramatically in the last year to become a one of the leading real estate website in New Zealand, with an 80 per cent growth in domestic visitors over the past 12 months. More than 625 real estate agent offices advertise more than 30,000 for-sale and for-rent listings on the site. allrealestate.co.nz is owned and operated by realestate.com.au Ltd. (ASX:REA, and its subsidiary companies, The REA Group).

About realcommercial.co.nz
realcommercial.co.nz is a powerful extension to the residential real estate site, allrealestate.co.nz, providing a medium for commercial agents, brokers to advertise their listings on the Internet and for potential buyers and tenants to search for properties and businesses for sale. The company also provides a full range of Internet services to commercial agents and brokers including web design and development. realcommercial.co.nz is owned and operated by realestate.com.au Ltd. (ASX:REA, and its subsidiary companies, the REA Group).

ENDS

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