The 47,676-square metre block in the suburb of Lytton West sits at the western border of Gisborne’s rural-urban boundary (RUB). Currently a large grassed paddock, the freehold land is zoned Residential Single House under Gisborne District Council’s plan – allowing for subdivision of sections to 400 square metres.

Gisborne District Council’s Residential Single House zoning is aimed at maintaining and enhancing the social values of existing residential neighbourhoods, while allowing for planned growth in locations around the city.

Lytton West Shopping Centre is located less than a kilometre away from the Nelson Road property, while a multitude of primary, intermediate and high schools are also within a similar walking distance.

The L-shaped property at Nelson Road is now being marketed for sale by tender through Bayleys Gisborne, with tenders closing on June 10. Bayleys Gisborne salespeople Simon Bousfield and Mike Florance said the property was one of the last remaining undeveloped addresses in Gisborne’s rural-urban boundary.

“The residential single house zoning of Nelson Road is Gisborne District Council’s direct response to recognising that what was once farmland on the outskirts of town is now the solution for alleviating housing pressure in the region by making better use of land available in such a prime location,” Bousfield said.

“The obvious appealing aspects of this property for large-scale residential subdivision developers are firstly its position on the edge of the city yet still handily located to community facilities and amenities, its flat topography, and the benefit of dual vehicular access points off both Nelson Road and Potae Avenue.

“Residential construction in Gisborne has been progressing at a rapid pace in recent years to keep up with the population growth, and opening up of this prime block at Nelson Road will go some way to helping deliver accommodation solutions to satisfy the on-going demand from both home and section buyers.”

Bousfield said that once the sizeable Nelson Road block was subdivided with council consents, residential property developers could look at a multitude of options to take the location to its next phase.

“There is enormous scope on how to potentially develop the property to maximise returns for any new owners, while simultaneously delivering a choice of housing offerings to the market,” he said.

“Any new owner could look at selling the resulting subdivided bare land sections individually, selling adjoining sections to existing residential building firms in separate tranches comprising multiple sites, offering ‘one-stop’ house and land packages, or any combination of these three options.

“Similarly, a developer could look at creating a suite of differently-sized sections to offer different price points to the market. It really is a blank canvas opportunity with a multitude of development permutations which could eventuate,” Bousfield said.

“An indication of how any residential development within the Nelson Road/Potae Avenue subdivision will most likely evolve in the long term can be seen in the array of variously designed homes already sitting arounds its periphery,” Bousfield said.

The peaceful Kiri Te Kanawa Retirement Village – owned and operated by New Zealand Stock Exchange listed entity Ryman Healthcare – sits immediately adjacent to the Nelson Road/Potae Avenue block up for sale.

Gisborne district currently has a population of approximately 47,734 people which is predicted to increase by nine percent to 52,063 residents over the next 26 years. Real Estate Institute of New Zealand data shows that the vast majority of sales in the Lytton West area over the past three years have been built homes – reflecting both the mature nature of the suburb and the rarity of bare sections coming on the market for sale.

Florance said the REINZ statistics have shown Gisborne house prices growing consistently at around 30 percent year-on-year over the past few months of 2021, with the February median price at $630,000 - up from $230,000 in 2016. The data also showed Gisborne had five of the top 10 fastest growing suburbs by value in the country.

He said that as Gisborne’s western most suburb, Lytton West enjoyed easy access to the region’s rural environment just a few streets away.

“Recreational amenities such as Gisborne Golf Club, Rugby Park and the Gisborne Showgrounds are all within easy walking distance from Nelson Road, while on-site, existing mature tree plantings on some portions of the property’s boundary enhance the location’s semi-rural environment,” Florance said.

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