Tokoroa

Young enough for its homes to be relevant for modern living, yet established enough to enjoy a pro-active community spirit, Tokoroa inspires a loyalty that regularly sees former residents moving back to town.

Tokoroa's appeal includes its flat topography, affordable houses, lifestyle blocks and investment properties with the potential for a $100 to $120 a week return on an outlay of as little as $35,000 to $40,000.

On sections averaging 840 sq m, homes in the mid-range $80,000 to $110,000 price bracket are the most popular with established buyers. Homes at the upper end range from $130,000 to $200,000 with a few luxury mansions selling for more than $200,000. Lifestyle blocks from 2ha to 4ha range from $160,000 to $300,000 depending on the quality of the home.

Once little more than a settlement before the forestry and hydro-electricity boom years of the 1950s, forestry-related industries remain Tokoroa's commercial life blood, employing locals among the 16,000-strong population and commuters from nearby Rotorua, Taupo, Tauranga and Hamilton.

Contract workers are likely to rent the investment properties owned largely by out-of-town investors. Mill houses, as the original worker's homes are known as, appeal to first-home buyers in the $25,000 to $65,000 league, while the original executive-style homes built in the prestigious southern end of town fetch $120,000 to $130,000.

Tokoroa's most recent subdivision dates back 20 years, hence the interest in the "new kids on the block" - the low-key lifestyle properties appearing around the rural edges of town.