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Avalon suburb guide: TV history, river walks and first-home prices
From TV studios to first homes: local agents on why this Lower Hutt suburb suits buyers on a budget.
AI summary
Avalon in Lower Hutt is an affordable suburb attracting first-home buyers with its classic Kiwi lifestyle. Historically known for Avalon Studios, the landmark tower now offers modern apartments. The area boasts excellent amenities, including Fraser Park and the Te Awa Kairangi Hutt River Trail.
Housing is diverse, from renovated 1940s homes to new builds in developments like the Awa precinct, with prices starting around $619,000. Its settled community and proximity to the Hutt CBD make it a popular choice.
Many mature Wellingtonians, when they think of Avalon, associate the suburb with Avalon Studios and Avalon Tower, a well-known Lower Hutt landmark.
Built in 1975, Avalon Tower housed the studios, sets and control rooms used by national broadcasters for many years. It has now been turned into Avalon Apartments, 72 apartments over three levels, which will be coming to the market very soon.
“What makes Avalon special as a property market is the wide range of housing it offers home buyers, from tidy 1940s homes that have been fully renovated and do-ups with good bones, to the latest in renewed apartment architecture that can be seen in the soon-to-be-launched Avalon Apartments,” says Trade Me Property customer director Gavin Lloyd.
“This is a suburb where you can live the archetypal Kiwi lifestyle – sport on the weekends, some house maintenance, and then out into Hutt Central for lunch on a Sunday,” he says.
Parks, sport and the river trail
Professionals Lower Hutt agent Shane Brockelbank likes that Avalon is a substantial suburb with plenty of amenities, four or five minutes from the Hutt CBD’s Queensgate shopping centre. And it’s still very affordable.
It has Te Awa Kairangi Hutt River Trail and Fraser Park, 27 hectares of fields and sporting facilities that have just been upgraded.
The park is a hive of activity for rugby, cricket, netball and football, and the Wellington Phoenix are the official operators of its multi-use Ricoh Sports Centre.
Avalon’s own shopping hub is relatively small, but the Hutt CBD is close by and Petone is about 10 minutes away.
“It’s got everything – cafés and bars and shops,” says Shane.
Shane has a soft spot for Avalon – his grandparents lived there for 40 years, at a time when the suburb was known for the big market gardens dotted throughout.
That’s good news for home buyers planning their own vege gardens.
How much does it cost to buy in Avalon?
First home buyers can afford the prices in Avalon, says Shane. A nice renovated three-bedroom, two-bathroom home with a double garage will set them back between $800,000 and $900,000.
He recently sold an older home in Avalon Crescent, which he rates as one of the best streets in the suburb, to a builder, Ben. Ben paid in the mid-$600,000s for the home on a half section and will live there with his partner.
He’s chatted to all the neighbours in the street and is feeling good about the move.
Built in 1941, the home has the high ceilings typical of that era and was extended in the 1970s.
“So it’s a good size, around 140sqm,” says Ben. “It’s a nice home, but it’s dated.”
He’s planning to re-GIB the walls, but the kitchen and bathroom were replaced within the last 10 years, so he doesn’t need to touch them. The garden is nice, with lovely old trees, he adds.
Buying new in the Awa precinct
Buyers who’d rather not take on an older home can buy new. Shane is marketing the Awa precinct in Avalon, a subdivision of 210 new builds.
Prices range from $619,000 for a two-bedroom, two-bathroom home to $699,000 for a three-bedroom, two-bathroom home, both with their own car park. Shane has sold 20 of them in the past six months.
Trains, the motorway and river walks
Ray White agent Jiggy Govind sells property in the area with her husband Jit as Team Govind. First home buyers like Avalon’s good public transport, the motorway and the Avalon Park setting with its river walks, she says.
Avalon commuters have a choice of two train stations, Wingate or Naenae, depending on where their home is.
Room to grow
“The homes in Avalon are of an era where they are just the right size – two to three bedrooms – and they sit on generously sized land parcels that can offer potential in the future,” says Jiggy.
One- and two-bedroom homes range from $400,000 to $600,000, with three-bedroom homes from $600,000 to over $1 million, she says.
Team Govind has just sold a well-built mid-century home at 35 Frederick Street at auction. It attracted a mix of buyers, from first home buyers to upsizers and flippers, says Jiggy.
At 150sqm, with a second living room, a study and a second bathroom, the home offered space for busy families with teenagers. It sat on a 930sqm rear section surrounded by established trees.
A settled community
Avalon has everything from standalone character and architecturally designed homes to apartments and new-build townhouses. But what really draws Wellingtonians is the stable community, says Jiggy.
“Many families have nestled in and raised their children there, and then downsized to smaller homes or moved into retirement villages in the area,” she says.
Browse homes for sale in Avalon on Trade Me Property.
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