Archive for the 'Uncategorized' Category
It may have been quiet for some during January but personally I have found it very busy and I have just sold 3 properties:
26 Ranui Terrace Tawa , which received multiple offers, 8 Katarina Grove (within a week) and 13 The Spinney , Titahi Bay.
26 Ranui Terrace – SOLD with multiple offers! I need more homes like this now for those that missed out!
There are many more buyers waiting to purchase properties like these in the $300,000 to $400,000 range and I need homes now, particularly in Tawa, Papakowhai and Titahi Bay. Buyers are waiting for some fresh new listings to hit the market and many of them are cashed up ready to offer immediately so call me now on 0274 489276.
February 01 2011 | Uncategorized | No Comments »
QV have released their latest update and the figures for some of the areas between Tawa and Pukerua Bay area posted below.
This is the E-Valuer price change in the year to 30th September 2010.
-0.8% Aotea
-3.7% Ascot Park
+8.5% Cannons Creek
+ 5.1% Papakowhai
+1.4% Porirua East
-2.2% Tawa
-0.4% Titahi Bay
+3.2% Whitby
If you want to know the true market value of your home please call me to arrange an appraisal on 0274 489276.
Mr. Pieter Geill of QV Valuations said; “Although our usual upsurge of spring activity is late this year, our Registered Valuers in Wellington get the feeling that the housing market may just be starting to pick up a little pace. We are not talking any sort of drastic turnaround here, but with better weather in recent weeks, we may start to see some people who have put off their property decisions starting to reconsider their options. Our phones have certainly been busier over the past couple of weeks”.
December 07 2010 | Uncategorized | No Comments »
An interesting project has been undertaken in Papakowhai involving homes from the 1960′s and 1970′s. Nine ‘ordinary’ New Zealand homes in Papakowhai were renovated with different packages of energy, water, waste and indoor environment quality improvements. Some houses were renovated to a high standard of sustainability, while other houses had more modest interventions to compare the performance and cost-effectiveness of different packages. The homes were monitored before and after renovation for a clear comparison on their performance.
Each house in the Papakowhai renovation project has been analysed before and after renovation for things such as energy efficiency and here is a report on House 2 and House 3 in the project.
The houses in Papakowhai were selected as case studies, representative of New Zealand homes from the 1960s and early 1970s, a major home building era in New Zealand, with a legacy of about 400,000 homes. Housing in this era is known to be difficult to retrofit for energy efficiency.
The houses, all owned by the occupiers, are located in a middle income suburb of Porirua, and include a variety of house design and sizes. Houses with a Rateable Value of more than $410,000 were excluded. Although the project commenced with early monitoring of the ten houses, one house was subsequently sold and the new homeowners not keen to be part of the project.
Before any changes were made, the nine houses were all monitored for energy and water use, temperature and humidity, and the amount of waste produced. This data was compared to post-renovation data to evaluate the effects of the changes.
In the first part of 2007 the homes were renovated with energy, waste and indoor environment quality improvements. Each home had a different combination of features installed, to allow comparison of their effectiveness. The aim is to identify the combinations of renovation options which are:
- the most cost effective
- easy to implement
- applicable to a range of house types and regions
- able to significantly improve how well the homes perform in energy efficiency, water conservation, waste minimisation and indoor environment quality.
The homes were then monitored for 15 months following the renovations to enable a clear comparison between the before and after performance of the homes.
Full information on the Papakowhai project is available at beaconpathway.co.nz
November 27 2010 | Uncategorized | No Comments »
One good reason families want to live in Papakowhai is the excellent school and this is the time of year when I have buyers looking for properties in Papakowhai that are within the schools enrolment zone. The Royal New Zealand Police College is located in Papakowhai and is about a 10 minute walk from the school so any families transferring to the area will be looking to buy a home in the school zone. Papakowhai is an easy commute by train or car to either Porirua or Wellington City and also quite accessible to the Hutt Valley via the Haywards Hill Rd.
As a local resident of Papakowhai I can easily sell a potential buyer on the benefits of living here. If you are considering selling a home in Papakowhai please call me now – I expect to be busy right up to Christmas and throughout the holiday season but I need more properties now!
Here’s what one young resident has to say about the area:
“Hi, I’m Natasha and I live in Papakowhai and think Papakowhai is cool. I live right next to the Reserve, so it’s cool to go for walks down there and the Dairy is just up the road. Aotea Lagoon is just down the road as well and it has two big playgrounds. You can also hire remote control boats to play with in the pond. My aunty and uncle got married in the gardens there because they are really beautiful. The police college and museum is just across the road from the lagoon. So I consider Papakowhai a great place to live.”
You can keep in touch with what’s happening at Papakowhai School by taking a look at their website.
November 27 2010 | Uncategorized | No Comments »
We have some amazing parks and reserves in the Tawa area including Redwood Bush Reserve and Larsen Crescent Reserve and most are able to be viewed online here.
The Friends of the Tawa Bush Reserves Inc was formed in 2002. The mission of the group is “to enrich our community in its natural environment by conserving the indigenous bush, enhancing its future and improving its accessibility.” Regular working bees are held and you can join the group by applying here.
Regular weekend working-bees are planned on the 2nd Sunday afternoon of each month, commencing at 1.30 p.m. A mid-week working-bee is also held on the 4th Tuesday afternoon of each month, commencing at 1.30 p.m. Members are invited to participate in these activities to improve the public access tracks, to undertake tree planting, weeding around planted trees, or pest plant removal.
Projects the Friends and the Council are working on include; repairing boundary fencing, signage, track development and maintenance, pest plant control, possum control and tree planting. Initial priorities related to conservation of Larsen Crescent Reserve, and pest animal and pest plant control in Redwood Bush and the development of tracks in Larsen Crescent Reserve and Redwood Bush. Other projects will be undertaken as plans are developed and resources identified.
November 27 2010 | Uncategorized | No Comments »
If you live anywhere from in Porirua City, including Papakowhai, Paremata, Plimmerton you will have had your new Rating Valuation or CV notice and may be wondering how this compares with it’s true market value.
According to your Valuation notice the CV is is “the assessment of the probable price that would have been paid for the property if it had been for sale at the date of the latest general revaluation 1 September 2010.” If you are thinking of selling in the next year or so it is important that your CV is an accurate reflection of the market – buyers put a great deal of emphasis on the latest figure especially within the first 12 months of it being released so if it is too low it could cost you tens of thousands when you come to sell.
If you want to know what your home is really worth please call me on 0274 489276 and I will arrange an appraisal based on actual sales data from the last few months.
Quotable Value are also offering a FREE rating valuation report and you can access these here – but be quick as you only have until the 16th December to lodge an objection.
November 27 2010 | Uncategorized | No Comments »
The Tawa Lions Club is taking part in the “Heads Up For Kids” fundraiser and will be using the Professionals Real Estate office at Tawa as a collection point.
Drop your old money (coins or banknotes) into the tin at the Tawa Professionals office and the Lions Club will arrange to have the money converted at the Reserve Bank and the funds will be donated to the “Heads up for Kids” project. Read more about this initiative on the Lions Club website.
Our office is located at 176 Main Rd Tawa. When you drop your money in perhaps ask for Frances von Sturmer if any of the properties in the office window may be of interest.
August 20 2010 | Uncategorized | No Comments »
When you first drive into Tawa on the left hand side is a ”living sign” with the words Tawa – this sign was an idea put forward by Doris Mills, the Mayor of Tawa from 1986-87.
The tawalink.com website has photos of the Tawa sign over the years with various colour schemes and these can be viewed here.
August 20 2010 | Uncategorized | No Comments »
The website tawalink.com has a vast amount of information about the suburb and includes this fabulous panoramic photograph that points out many of the great features of the suburb.
There are 550 plus pages and countless photos on the site and it is well worth spending some time taking a look as there is pretty much all you need to know there.
Once you realise what a great suburb this is to live in you will no doubt be keen to discuss the local real estate market and that’s where I come in. I have access to a large number of real estate listings and if any of these are of interest please call or text me on 0274 489276 and I will arrange for you to view.
Regards
Frances von Sturmer
0274 489276
Double Winkel Real Estate – a member of Professionals Real Estate Group
Licensed Real Estate Agents
August 19 2010 | Uncategorized | No Comments »
