Mt Eden: Doctor in the house

23 Burnley Terrace, Mt Eden.

Asking price: $600,000-plus

Sold for: $700,000.

Sold by: Liz Rigby, Cahill Real Estate, ph 849 2588, 021 676 206.

The character bungalows in Mt Eden and Mt Albert, with their tree-lined, traditional neighbourhoods are closely held: homeowners fall in love with the beautiful styling and are reluctant to move on. So when their family expanded to two boisterous boys, aged 3 and 15 months, Mt Eden bungalow owners Liz Catherwood and Dave McNamara knew they would have a search to trade up to something roomier from the three-bedroomed, half-section bungalow they'd enjoyed as a couple.

'We wanted bungalow-style, somewhere close to our work and with plenty of room for the boys to grow up in," says Liz. "Four bedrooms is hard to find in a bungalow. And we'd already sold our house as we didn't want the stress of buying and then trying to sell afterwards."

Dave happily delegated the search to Liz, a GP who divides her practice between Mt Eden and South Auckland. She reckons she searched every house on the internet in the area, spreading her search to Mt Albert and Sandringham. Burnley Terrace (featured in Heraldhomes on July 16) fitted the bill - it was in a street of well-preserved heritage houses, with a done-up kitchen and bathroom, plenty of bedrooms, and a big family-friendly section.

Its proximity to their new neighbourhood cafe on the corner of Dominion Road, and the handy parks, sealed its appeal.

At the auction, a crowd of more than 50 people and four keen bidders just whetted Liz's appetite: the couple bought on the dot of $700,000 and celebrated at their cafe. Their older boy has already claimed his bedroom and is looking forward to his new, big backyard.

Liz and Dave, a paediatric research fellow, plan to leisurely re-decorate and play with the landscaping as they settle into their new home.