Nearest neighbour also moos
Nightcaps in Tinkertown might sound like something out of a fairy tale, but the dream of escaping the rat race, the traffic and the mortgage could be real – as here you can get a historic house and up to two acres (.8ha) of land for just $250,000, or the owner will even consider a trade for a camper van.
Greymouth couple Graeme and Melissa Beckett are selling the Southland two-bedroom home and lifestyle block, about 80km northwest of Invercargill. It comes with cows, sheep and chickens if you want them – and they are open to a trade, ideally for a camper van, so they can embark on their own dream journey around Aotearoa, but Graeme also has his eye on a Ford Bonus classic car.
A luxury 4 berth new camper van can cost up to $725,000, the most expensive currently listed on Trade Me, whereas second-hand converted vans can go for less than $10,000. Ford Bonus trucks can cost up to $150,000.
“Show us what you have got basically. We really would love to swap or part trade for a camper van, because we’ve always wanted to take a year off and tour around the country. We did have one a few years ago but never did the trip, so we sold it, and it’s always been our biggest regret,” Melissa said. Bartering is part and parcel of the local community, she said. “It’s like the old days when people pitched in with whatever they have. Food, trades, helping people who need it. Swapping garlic butter for a hand around the house, or just trading what you need with neighbours. Whoever moves in will be welcomed with open arms by the community – it’s that sort of life that you just don’t get much of nowadays where everyone helps each other.”
The couple have owned the house for 10 years and used it as their summer bach retreat and when visiting Graeme’s father who lived in Nightcaps. Before they bought it, the previous owner had lived there for 20 years. It was built in 1920 when Nightcaps had a strong mining community.
“As Graeme’s father passed away last year, we just want someone else to enjoy it, and really are open to any offers, we don’t care,” Melissa said.
The listing has already had thousands of views, and has been watchlisted 68 times, with people already inquiring, she said.
The property, which has a capital value of $200,000, comes with a garage, two sheds, and four off-street parks. The asking price is less than a quarter of the latest median sale price in Auckland, according to Ed McKnight, economist at property investment company Opes Partners.
“If you consider that the Auckland median house price is $1.052m [as at November 2023], then Southland looks good value – you could get four of these houses for what you could get in Auckland.”
As at November 2023, the median house price in Southland is $430,000 according to McKnight. Over 10 years, the median Southland property increased in value by 8.51% each year, higher than the equivalent ten-year increase in Auckland of 5.3% and Canterbury 6%.
The house is described on Trade Me as “warm, colourful and full of character”, the bright orange and blue bedrooms are courtesy of the couple’s son, then 8, who they let choose the paint colours when they moved in 10 years ago. There’s also a bright yellow kitchen area, and a green and red living room.
The lime green toilet with a cow toilet seat was not his interior design, as it was already there.
The nearest neighbour also moos. ”I wasn’t used to cows or anything, so I remember being surprised when I was hanging the washing out, there was a cow in the garden, who helped itself to my bag of pegs.”
Any buyers will enjoy rolling countryside and “beautiful night skies and a perfect climate,” she said. And if you do want human company, there’s a population of 306.