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When Nick Allfrey put his historic Ōtautahi Christchurch home on the market in he thought it would be a quick sale. Unfortunately, he was wrong.
A stunning Queen Anne-style villa, with a turret, five bedrooms, and tones of potential, the home is also perfectly situated overlooking the Avon river. It was in a rugged state when he put it on the market, but Allfrey’s hope was that someone else would bring the grand old dame back to her former glory.
Interest in the sale was high and he received lots of offers for the home. But after choosing one, the would-be buyer got cold feet. The sale fell over, and Nick decided to pull the home off the market while he finished some work on the home he’d always meant to get to.
Five months later, the grand old dame is back on the market, with a new roof, repairs to the weatherboard and a fresh paint job, looking more like something from a fairytale than ever.
“[The roof] is what took time. I think there’s only one person in Christchurch who could do it,” says real estate agent Tina Briggs of Harcourts, who is managing the listing. “Now, the flatmates have all moved out. We’ve staged it, and it’s looking a million dollars.”
A few people who’d looked at the home before have come back again, but now Briggs is hoping the work that’s been done will encourage a wider range of buyers to take a look.
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361 Cambridge Terrace in Ōtautahi has had a glow-up.
“Before, everybody was quite fearful of having to take the roof off, and replace it. You know, costs could spiral. Now those big ticket items have been addressed I think we’ll get more offers because we’ve taken away the unknown.”
Once part of the Barbadoes Cemetery reserve, there’s less spook and more charm about the 1904-built villa these days.
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The garden has been tidied up and the home repainted and re-reroofed.
A nurse at the nearby hospital, Allfrey bought the heritage-listed home from a colleague a few years ago after falling for its character charm.
“We’re in the city centre, so there are always people walking past looking up at it. They’ll ask you about the house if you’re outside doing gardening or just checking the mail,” Allfrey told us back in February.
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The home is packed with period charm.
“Over the years, there have always been letters in the mailbox asking if I’d sell. Because we’ve got the Avon River right there, it’s one of those houses that a lot of people run or walk past.”
Work had been done to fix damage the house sustained during the 2011 earthquakes: It had already been re-piled, and lifted back to its original level, before the more recent works to the roof and weatherboards.
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It has two reception rooms, including this formal lounge.
The heritage listing protects the home’s exterior from alteration, but the inside of the home is just as worthy of protecting; notably it features a grand kauri staircase that greets visitors on arrival.
A unique feature of the staircase is a built-in new post lamp, cast in bronze, depicting Mercury standing on the globe – a decorative accent that was popular in the Edwardian period the home is so typical of.
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The sitting room has a turret corner, which would make a lovely work-from-home space.
The home was split into flats in the 1920s, but returned to a single home, and used as accommodation until the 90s. There are five bedrooms, four with ensuites, and most have garden or river views.
Other period features include very high ceilings, stained-glass windows, deep verandas off several of the bedrooms, octagonal “turret” corners in the main bedroom and living room, original ceiling roses and chandeliers. The kitchen is new, and the bathrooms are modern.
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The kitchen is farmhouse-style fresh.
The style and period of the home give it historic significance, and it is protected in the district plan.
“There’s not that many [grand houses] left,” Allfrey says. “So if you can look after something like that and make it grand again, [it’s worthwhile].
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Stunning features like the staircase and inbuilt lamp remain.
The 259m² home sits on a manageable 546m² section, the back portion of which is a deck area.
Walking distance from central Ōtautahi, the home is directly opposite a picturesque stretch of the Avon-Ōtakaro awa. On the opposite side of the awa are the Oxford Terrace gardens.
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The masterbedroom aslo has a corner of the turret.
For sale by deadline of July 28, the RV for the property is $1,340,000 and Allfrey is happy to look at all offers on the day.
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The turret overlooks the Avon river.
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A second master bedroom also has access to the balcony.
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The balcony faces the Avon.
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Cambridge Gardens are on the far side of the river.
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