Manurewa

By LUCY RICHMOND

Laying claim to a large stretch of the Manukau Harbour coastline, a host of waterfront parks, bush areas and reserves, several new housing developments and some reasonably priced real estate, the suburb of Manurewa is growing fast.

Taking in Clendon Park, Homai, Randwick Park, Leabank, The Gardens subdivision, Green Meadows, Wattle Downs and Hill Park, Manurewa is home to a broad mix of homes and people.

Notable features include the 65ha Auckland Regional Botanic Gardens, which hosts the annual Ellerslie Flower Show every November, Nathan Homestead on Hill Rd, which was built in 1925 and is now an arts and crafts, function and community venue, and Wattle Downs, which boasts several reserves and a golf and country club.

The majority of Manurewa houses date from the 60s or later, so the choice of dwellings features a mix of your average modest family homes on full sections, a smattering of bungalows, new brick and plaster homes, the odd villa or two, a few units and some lifestyle blocks.

But it's the new developments - such as the ever-popular The Gardens subdivision and anywhere in the new Alfriston College zone (due to open in February 2004) - which are helping to fuel the area's rapid growth, says Sue Douglas, who manages Manurewa's Ray White office.

"There are a number of new housing developments, such as Glenveagh Park, Addison Park, Alfriston Heights and Acacia Cove retirement village, which are pulling in the first-home buyers, retirees and upmarket purchasers, as well as everyone in between," she says.

"We're handy to the airport and 20 minutes from the CBD [off-peak]. We have some semi-rural lifestyle blocks, a mixture of old and new homes, first homes, rentals, low-cost and upmarket, luxury residences.

"It's a very diverse and multicultural region, which offers a range of properties at reasonable prices, which represent good value for money.

"Units start from around $120,000, with an average three-bedroom home fetching between $160,000 and $190,000," she says. "You can buy a well-appointed, new, quality four-bedroom home in Acacia Cove for $350,000, a luxury residence for anything from $400,000 and lifestyle blocks upwards of $450,000 to around $1 million."

Douglas says The Gardens and anything in the Alfriston College zone are the most sought-after locations in the area, with homes here fetching "anything from $350,000 to more than $750,000".

SCHOOLS

The choice for Manurewa and the surrounding suburbs includes 19 primary, three intermediate and three secondary schools.

OTHER AMENITIES

Every Sunday a selection of market stallholders set up shop in the car park behind the Northcrest shops at the north end of Manurewa township, where they sell fruit, veg and bric-a-brac. High street shopping can be done along Gt South Rd and at the Southmall shopping centre. There is also a number of Indian shops in the area.

Sports-lovers can head to the Manurewa Leisure Centre, which has a good gym and a swimming pool.