Empty Nesting in New Zealand | Mid Eastern & World News ...

By JOANNE LEE-YOUNG

Open House

188 Domain Rd.,

Queenstown, New Zealand

STATS: A 5,790-square-foot home with five bedrooms and 3? bathrooms on just under an acre is asking 4.5 million New Zealand dollars ($3.7 million), or NZ$777 per square foot. Property taxes in 2011 were NZ$4,008, according to the owners.

Photos: Empty Nesting in New Zealand

Luxury Real Estate New Zealand

Plans for the house were expanded after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks so it could accommodate the extended family.

DETAILS: The owners lived most of their adult lives in California, but were traveling for fun in New Zealand 12 years ago when they decided to ?throw caution to the wind and tell our kids and grandchildren that we were moving to New Zealand.? They bought the land, which was one of eight properties, all about the same size, on a communal spread of 40 acres with alpine views and landscaped ponds. Originally, they were planning to build a smaller, holiday home. But when the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks happened, ?we didn?t know if we would have all the kids in New Zealand, but we expanded the house greatly so that we could put them all up.? All six kids, their children, spouses and significant others, 18 in total, can fit comfortably in the French-country-style home, ?at least for a little while.? There are big beams throughout the house and a few are recycled from old railroad bridges in Australia that date to the 1800s, say the owners. The sale price includes all furniture.

SELLERS: Gerald and Carolyne Johnson, both retired. He used to build and manage small amusement parks in California. She was a litigation attorney.

THE NEIGHBORHOOD: ?It?s whistle-clean air, whistle-clean water,? says Mr. Johnson, who plays in a six-piece Dixie swing group that performs at the Queenstown Jazzfest in the fall. They see ski lifts from their window. There?s a lake with two wings, each spanning 30 miles, for sailing and boating. He likes the Milford Track for a four-day hike or fly-fishing.

WHAT WE PAID: NZ$450,000 for the land in 2000, followed by NZ$3 million to design and build the house, which was completed in 2002.

WHY WE?RE SELLING: They are hoping to spend more time with their family in the U.S. The couple still hope to be in Queenstown four to five months a year.

WHAT WE?LL MISS: The view of mother ducks and ducklings that ?come down this waterfall in the pond and go, plop, plop, plop,? says Mrs. Johnson.

WHAT WE WON?T: There?s a southerly wind that comes up from Antarctica, says Mrs. Johnson. Winters aren?t severe but ?it?s not Newport Beach,? adds Mr. Johnson.

COMP: A three-bedroom, three-bath, 2,300-square-foot home, plus guest cottage, on 10 acres of land with mature fruit orchards near Queenstown recently sold for NZ$2.5 million.

OTHERS SAY: ?When you?re talking about properties with an X-factor, special [ones] with a great view or something that can?t be easily replicated, then you?re seeing interest from offshore buyers,? says Kelvin Collins of Queenstown-based Harcourts Highland Real Estate Group. The land would sell for between NZ$900,000 and NZ$1 million and the building cost would be NZ$3.3 million, so the price is justified, says Terry Spice of Queenstown-based Luxury Real Estate New Zealand, who has the listing.

A version of this article appeared March 30, 2012, on page D9A in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: Empty Nesting In New Zealand.

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