It’s the home of the beehive, Wellywood, windy weather and our parliamentarians. The saying goes, “you can’t beat Wellington on a good day”, but Bayleys Wellington Regional General Manager Grant Henderson believes you can’t beat Wellington - full stop.

“It’s a nice compact city, you’re never too far away and everything is nice and close. It’s got great outdoor activities because of the big hills sitting around the basin. There’s coast all around us, and it’s a great creative city.”

“It's somewhere that's a little bit more bohemian than perhaps Auckland or even Christchurch.”

While it may largely attract law makers and civil servants, Henderson says the pull Wellington has is much broader than that.

“There's a lot of very successful businesses that have come out of Wellington. There’s long standing family businesses like Partridge Jewellers and Whittaker’s chocolate. There’s quite a bit of stuff that happens here.”

While the central city streets are jam packed, Henderson says it only takes around 30 minutes to reach an area where you’re able to spread your wings.

“If you're into hunting, fishing and shooting you can go over the hill to the Wairarapa or the Hutt Valley. Then if you go up the Kapiti Coast, you’ve got all of the beaches.”

But Henderson says the cherry on top is the value you can get in a home, and there’s four areas in particular that’s catching his eye. So what can you expect from each of them, and how much are you likely to pay for a property there?

SOUTH COAST SUBURBS

This covers from Miramar and around to Owhiro Bay, and attracts people who enjoy a more bohemian lifestyle.

“It’s quite a rugged coastline and that southerly really blows, but with it comes fishing and diving. There’s lots of cycle trails, and some really really cool cafes.”

“In Lyall Bay on any given day the surfers are mad because the water is freezing. But the bay is always full.”

Henderson says the younger generation is particularly drawn to the area.

“There used to be a lot of blue collar workers, people who worked on the wharves and oil tanks. But that’s all changed now and you now see lots of young couples.”

There’s also a range of different properties, to suit a range of different budgets.

“You go from around $750,000 through to two, three and even four million dollars. You can buy a do-up, or you can buy a cliff top home with water views.”

It’s also a great location for getting around, especially if you’re heading to the airport and out of the city.

“There’s multiple ways of getting into the city, and there’s work being done on the Mount Victoria Tunnel which will make a huge difference.”

“For anyone who does lots of long-distance travel, the airport is right there. The area is also extremely popular with Airbnb owners too.”

There’s also all the amenities you’d expect from an up and coming area.

“There’s a couple of suburbs where you can get everything from a pair of shoes and a pair of jeans, to your daily shopping and there’s some great bakeries too.”

So how much would a new place set you back? Henderson says right now the median sale price for Wellington’s south coast is around $850,000.

WESTERN CORRIDOR

From Ngaio through to Johnsonville is Wellington’s western corridor. Henderson says the main driver behind its popularity is its proximity to the CBD.

“It's got good transport links. There’s a train and bus service that’s convenient to take you right into the middle of town, and it’s easy.”

It’s a real family friendly area, with some great options for schooling and a mix of higher-end and mid-range suburbs.

“It suits anyone who wants a really friendly community with easy accessibility, and it’s also got some great outdoor attractions with loads of bike tracks, soccer and rugby fields.”

Like the south coast suburbs, there’s a broad range of property on offer to suit a range of budgets.

“You can buy a two-bedroom cottage for $750,000, or you can buy a house with a tennis court and a swimming pool for $5.5 million.”

“It’s also really condensed, so there can literally be two streets between that cottage and multi-million-dollar home.” Henderson says it’s the perfect area for a young family to spend time in over the long term.

“They can move into their first home and progress through into a bigger property.”

“You could start out in a little two-bedroom place, move on to a three-bedroom, and then a four- bedroom, all while the kids are at the same school.”

There’s a lot of weatherboard homes with a few brand new townhouses up for grabs.

The median sale price for a home in the western corridor is $990,000.

HUTT VALLEY

If you’re looking for the best value for money mixed with an outdoorsy lifestyle, Henderson says look no further than the Hutt Valley.

“Upper Hutt has the Hutt River which runs from back up in the hills all the way through the middle, and that's quite a drawcard for people who love swimming, trout fishing, or even walks with their dog.”

Henderson believes the area suits a more ‘tradie’ kind of lifestyle.

“You’ve got the speedway out there, and there's a lot of industrial workshops and buildings.”

A lot of the homes are former state houses with around three bedrooms on a full site.

“People can get these homes in the high five to mid six hundred thousands, it’s great value for money.”

“But because of that price point, quite a lot of developers have moved in, bought two houses and then put 12 brand new townhouses on the site. That’s really attractive to first home buyers.”

It’s also really accessible for people on the move, with great train and bus links into Wellington’s CBD.

“If you want to catch the train it's going to take about 25 to 30 minutes. By car, it depends on the time of day, but generally it’s a 25 to 45 minute commute time.”

Henderson says right now the median price for a Hutt Valley property is around $700,000.

KAPITI COAST

For the beach lovers among us, Henderson recommends the Kapiti coast.

“It’s feeding up the northern western line out of the city. We’ve seen the Transmission Gully completed, which is the biggest infrastructure project in the area in the last 25 years.”

“So that gave us a two lane highway right from the city all the way up to the Kapiti Coast. That’s cut traveling time down by about 15 minutes in either direction.”

It's made beachside living even more accessible.

“It offers fantastic sunshine hours. It's usually three degrees warmer than central Wellington on any given day.”

“Kapiti is great for people who enjoy the beach, fishing and the lifestyle of working from home.”

Henderson says the area is really popular with retirees, and those looking to downsize and move out of the city and enjoy more of a life of leisure.

“It’s all very hilly and there’s some great golf clubs. There’s also great infrastructure with a big mall full of clothing stores and supermarkets.Whatever you want it’s there.”

So how much would a new place set you back? Henderson says right now the median sale price for Kapiti Coast is around $850,000.