Mt Eden: Who bought that house?

44 Dexter Avenue, Mt Eden.

Price indication: CV (2005) $920,000.

Sold for: $1.05 million.

Sold by: Justine Koning and Colleen Strachan, Unlimited Potential, ph 0275 956 108 or 021 283 6194.

Real estate is all about location, everybody knows that. But real estate agent Bevan Domett, with 10 years' experience under his belt, reckons he's only just learned that lesson. He and his wife Jennifer and daughter Sam, 7, sold their Mt Eden home last year, planning to buy a house in Epsom with a bigger garden for Sam.

"But after renting over in Epsom for several months, we realised how much we missed our corner of Mt Eden," says Bevan. "We hadn't realised how important our little pocket was, with access to the park and friends all around."

So the couple decided to re-align their search for a new home back in their old neighbourhood, and were delighted that a house they knew, at 44 Dexter Avenue was on the market (and featured in Heraldhomes on February 18). "No question, we knew this was the house we'd have," Bevan says, "The gate into Taylors Park, which has been our park since Sam was a baby, clinched it for us."

The couple are delighted to be back in their own neighbourhood: Sam can continue with the Walking Bus to her school, her friends are all a hop and a skip away and commutes to work are easy for her parents.

The couple plan to put their own mark on the property, now that the hard work of adding a rear extension has been done by previous owners. They plan to continue the gracious verandahs to the front, perhaps put in a bay window, redecorate, and Bevan is puzzling how to get a digger in to make a pool for the backyard.

"We thought we weren't attached to the area, but moving away made us see how much we love this place, we'll be here for a while now."