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Thread: auckland south shore - remuera etc

  1. #1
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    Default auckland south shore - remuera etc

    is it as pricey as legend suggests? are there any knock-downs??? over here it sounds as though props are v hard to come by and wildly over-priced... truth or fiction? can you pick up a worker for $500?

  2. #2
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    Hi Leslie,

    Not sure what you mean by a "worker". We have been here for two months and Remuera is the suburb you hear bandied about most in terms of central Auckland. To be honest, I think it is a bit up its own a**e (excuse the language!).

    It does seem very expensive there, compared to a number of other burbs which are just as close, or at least not much further, from the centre. There are some impressive properties in Remuera, but you are talking $1m+ starter price. You will also find a lot of houses being described as "in Remuera", when they are not, usually this means that they are in Ellerslie or Meadowbank. The "R" name adds something to the property (probably another $50k+!).

    I don't think Remuera is the most exclusive suburb in Auckland, that title probably goes to Parnell.

    Lee & Nicky.

  3. #3
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    worker means knock down/ do up! in other words a year of headaches...

    we have a grumpy teen girl who is unhappy re. move and the thing about rem is that there are so many good schools in immed area (no daily commute as at present - awful to be 14 and spend an hour getting to school because traffic hideous) and there are things to do/ stuff is accessible. we were pro-north shore but photos and info avail make it sound like no mans land and v car dependent. the prices dont seem that much lower either. we live in putney/ london by river and daughter wanders about with friends and they can do just about anything without relying on us. as move gets closer we are getting a bit more focussed on edu and it makes centre more appealing. yes its pricier, but i guess what we are trying to figure out is - is it THAT much pricier and/or is it good val for money? to put it in perspective, in london at the moment its cheaper to buy a house in mayfair than most parts of the city because other areas are trendy - even though mayfair a solid l-t choice. is rem, with its snooty rep, potential motorway dev etc, a solid bet? is it a good place for teenager?

  4. #4
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    Hi Leslie,

    We don't have teenage kids yet, both of ours under 5, so not necessarily in best position to advise. You can't do a like for like comparison with London, but if you were to try then I would say Remuera is a bit like, oh, say St Johns Wood/Maida Vale. It is fairly close to the CBD, but as a centre for teens I am not sure the CBD/Queen Street is that much of an attraction. For instance, the better shopping malls and areas are in different subrubs (and I think Rem is pretty well served in this respect, like a lot of other areas). Newmarket is a vibrant place, probably v attractive to a teenager (hell on earth to an old git like me!) and is close to Rem and the CBD. Equally Ponsonby just to the west of the CBD is trendy and has a cafe culture.

    I think by most criteria Remuera is quite expensive, dollar for brick so to speak, just because of its name and perceived desireability. Of corse its desirable for a reason, good houses good schools etc but whether it is that much better than some other areas that it deserves a 10%-20%++ premium on house prices, well I am not sure myself. I guess it depends on how much cash you have available and/or what mortgage you are prepared to take out. What I would say is that borrowing is still expensive out here and you don't necessarily have the range of mortgage products you get back in the UK and Auckland is expensive generally (relative to salaries).

    If you can rent for a few months first, that would be a good idea. You should easily be able to find enough rental stock in Remuera to give you a taste. I take your point on the North Shore, car or bus is your only real alternative, but then the North Shore (and probably Manukau also) have developed there own centres etc so that going into the centre of Auckland itself is not really necessary.

    I must say driving across the Harbour Bridge from the north and looking across the Waitemata Harbour at the city skyline is fantastic, especially on a sunny day. It is one of the littlel things that reaffirms to me I made the right decision to leave the UK.

    Lee & Nicky

  5. #5
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    Hi Leslie
    If you are still keen on North Shore, I wouldn't dismiss it too quickly. My 17 yr old boy loves it here. We've been here a few months and he's in a really good school (Rangitoto College) and has made good friends very quickly (the kids here are just so friendly). All his friends drive (they start at 15 here) and they spend all their time at the beach or someone or others house. He's just come back from camping with them in the Coromandel and they will all be going camping next week in the lakes up north. He is having a wonderful time (all very 'Famous Five' and 'Boys Own Adventures'!!) and loves it here (this is the same child who spent his evenings back in UK at pubs and nightclubs because there was nothing else to do!!!). The kids here have a much healthier outlook on life and I am certain your teenager will love it once settled in.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by leslie
    worker means knock down/ do up! in other words a year of headaches...
    No such place would exist in and around Remuera anymore, as that area is gold-plated and only for those with a stack of readies. :mrgreen:

    Remuera, Mission Bay, Kohimarama, and St Heliers are probably the most expensive areas in which to buy property. Other nearby suburbs aren't much cheaper.

  7. #7
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    we moved to putney from maida vale after being gazumped on a (cheap) cottage in st johns wood! now cringe when i remember life north of river... talk about over-rated and over-priced

    we dont have bucket-loads of cash, our move to uk went v badly and its been 3 long years of crisis after problem after crisis. wouldn't be good to fling kiddies into deep water and am trying to do the impossble. will check out newmarket etc a bit more. v helpful. have heard many good things re. rangitoto. after 3 years here 'elite' schools make my hair stand on end and rangi seems to be good without being elitist. keep focussing on idea that teen exp an automatic improvement over life in uk. does anyone know of any good/ proper gymnastics clubs - do they have these in the high schools? this is the one thing that could win over grumpy...

    memories of auckland are confusingly dim. sometimes think i should just pack and head over for 2 weeks - did anyone do it and was it helpful in the long run? it looks expensive -

  8. #8
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    Hi Leslie,

    Unfortunately Auckland is an expensive place to live, I realise that more now that I am here than I did when researching on the web back in the UK. Back in the UK our mortgage was about 27% of my take home pay, here the rent we pay is over 40%. I was talking to a Brit who has lived here for 8 years and he confirmed my own fears, accommodation costs in Auckland tend to be quite a high percentage of take home pay (anything up to 50%). One strange contributory reason for this is that Kiwis don't have the same concept of pension schemes etc that we are used to, many see property as there nest egg (you see loads of properties being marketed as "ideal for rental" and "long term capital gain"). Also, there doesn't yet seem to be any concept of "weighting" as there does in the UK with London, ie Auckland salaries do not necessarily reflect the increased living costs. However this could change over time, what with the unemployment rate being so low here, the high concentration of business in Auckland, and the poor immigration numbers recently.

    Remuera is expensive, you may find Newmarket not much cheaper and more geared up to couples without children etc in terms of property stock. It does depend on what you want and what you are prepared to spend. We have seen three very nice houses on the North Shore recently, in Birkenhead and Chatswood, all 4 bed 2 bath and in a good state - you would be looking to pay between $500k and $650k for such places - and they are close to ferry terminals (short hop into CBD) or the Northern Motorway (if you prefer to travel by car).

    If you could come out for a couple of weeks that may be a good idea, give you a feel for the area, suburbs, commute times, facilities etc. Auckland was not our first choice but I have to say I do really like the city, whether I will still feel the same when we actually come to buy a place maybe things will change!

    Lee

  9. #9
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    Howick is a good area. Check out the area around Botany Town Centre - Dannemora, Point View etc. Lots of modern houses, good shopping and other facilities. Lots of people are moving into the area to get into the new Botany College zone.*

    * The futuristic Botany College had now opened and is getting some good reviews. Some of the staff from Macleans School are said to have been attracted away to work there. Word is that Macleans are now starting to widen out their home zone in an effort to attract more students.

  10. #10
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    its so much easier moving without teenagers. maybe we should just wack her into some nz boarding school and live wherever looks most interesting from the plane...

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