Glenfield

Glenfield

Glenfield is "booming, booming, booming," according to Ray White Glenfield sales manager Dave Collett. "The market's absolutely screaming along. February has been the best month in the history of Ray White Glenfield."

Dave has been selling real estate in the area for more than 13 years, and says house prices have "risen and risen and risen" during that time. Houses that sold for $150,000 when he started are now easily fetching more than $350,000, and the market isn't showing any signs of slowing.

But Dave says Glenfield is still an affordable option when compared with other North Shore suburbs. A two-bedroom, brick-and-tile flat sells for $225,000 to $275,000, depending on the street it's in, while a three-bedroom home with a garage on a full site will set you back about $350,000. Prices in some of the smarter areas can reach $550,000 for a five-year-old executive home with a double garage.

Most of the homes in the wider Glenfield area - which takes in Unsworth, Wairau Park, Marlborough and Bayview - are less than 50 years old. Many were built during the 1970s, then development companies created large subdivisions of group housing during the 1980s and 1990s. Newer homes are usually on subdivided sites. "There's not a lot of dirt left in Glenfield at all now," says Dave.

Garry Denley of The Professionals Lochores Real Estate says Glenfield is one of New Zealand's biggest suburbs, and 70 per cent of its housing stock is three-bedroom family homes. It has traditionally been popular with first-home buyers, and many upgrade within the area as their families grow, often retaining their first home and renting it out. Demand for housing has grown as workers employed in the burgeoning Albany industrial district look for homes near work.

Glenfield is also popular with property investors, as it's never hard to find families prepared to pay about $350 a week for a three-bedroom home. Dave says he's noticed a recent surge of email enquiries from across the Tasman, as Australians seeking to avoid capital gains tax consider investing in New Zealand.

Its location in the centre of the North Shore makes it handy for getting into the city or out to the beaches on either coast. Wairau Park and the recently redeveloped Glenfield Westfield mall are a consumer's paradise, and there are movie theatres, parks, recreation centres and swimming pools nearby, plus a regular bus service to the city. The many primary schools tend to be well regarded, and decile seven Glenfield College serves older children. Some areas of wider Glenfield are zoned for Westlake Girls and Boys.

What makes Glenfield special?

There's nothing particularly exciting about Glenfield, but that's what the locals like about living there. Even cheerleader Dave Collett describes it as "normal" - but he means it in the nicest possible way. "It's average New Zealand. It's mum, dad and the kids," he says. "It's not Takapuna Beach for the wealthy and it's not the bottom of the market with lots of state houses. Everybody seems to be quite nice around here."

Watch out for ...

Busy Glenfield Rd, which runs through the centre of the suburb, is currently being widened, which will hopefully help speed up traffic flow. Some people believe it's better to buy east of Glenfield Rd, where you're closer to the motorway, and prices in that area tend to reflect this preference.

Need to know

Median 2004 house sale price - approximately $300,000

Driving time to city - off-peak: 10-20 minutes, peak: 45-60 minutes