On vacation every day: Lockwood Homes
Owning a Kiwi bach is an ongoing dream for many, although thousands have already taken the plunge, spending weekends relaxing in their own, or a hired, home away from home.
Concurrent with recent changes in building regulations and a deeper focus on sustainability, have come several noticeable, quite substantial shifts in buyer wishlists. Amongst these are location, size and use.
John Stewart, Christchurch-based head of the National Builder Network for Lockwood Homes, says many people are choosing to build their holiday homes within 90 minutes of their primary residence. They are avoiding popular tourist spots like The Sounds, Mackenzie Country, Wanaka, and Queenstown. “This ‘close to home desire’ was a feature of the early 1980s, but now the focus is on cosy, smaller, very open plan and cost-efficient designs on relatively small pieces of land,” John adds. “Though that’s not to say the larger, bespoke homes away from home aren’t being built; they are, yet in the big tourist centres.” Another shift noted is the move amongst farmers to add high-end studios and cottages targeting the very popular farmstay market. 
“There’s a lot of interest in small beach enclaves between Christchurch and Goose Bay near Kaikōura, places like Staveley, Methven environs, and Castle Hill. Downsizers are selecting more well serviced towns including Geraldine, Kaiapoi and Oxford and some of the satellite villages close to Darfield. “This shift has been timely for us, as we recently released the (pictured) 99 square metre two-bedroom two-bathroom Vacationer plan which is in hot demand and on display in Hornby,” says John.
“We have two smaller versions of the same plan, too.” As with new builds across New Zealand and Australia, the average size of newbuilds has dropped, from over 200 square metres to less than 140 square metres, something Lockwood has noted too. Project times are variable, provided Geotech testing doesn’t throw up any major issues. If the client has a favourite Lockwood plan, pre consent and consent processing can be completed in two to three months, and then the components are manufactured in the company’s Rotorua factory before an average four month build.
WHY A LOCKWOOD HOME
Building with Lockwood means choosing a trusted name in innovative, solid timber and low maintenance, sustainable home construction, known for delivering high-quality, uniquely designed homes that stand the test of time, cyclones and earthquakes. They can build to your plan or choose from one of their many exciting designs.
See for yourself
The Vacationer (pictured below) is a stylish, large two-bedroom home from the company’s ReadyBuilt series.
View it at the Lockwood South Island Regional Office
431 Main South Road, Hornby, Christchurch
Open Monday – Friday 10am – 4pm
Sunday 1pm – 4pm
(Closed Saturday and public holidays)
