A place of their own

Lifestyle property owners are converting or building garages and sheds on their properties for hobbies and businesses – or for a beer and a jam session.

Buying a lifestyle property used to be largely about having room for the pony, a paddock to rear a few “beefies” for the freezer, or land to run some chickens or a couple of alpacas.

Today, say agents active in the lifestyle property market, buyers are increasingly looking for property opportunities that have generous shedding and garaging capacity, barns suitable for conversion to workspace or hobby rooms, or outbuildings that add something to the lifestyle mix they’re escaping the city lights for.

Denise Jenner, Bayleys Takanini, says she’s noticed a real shift in thinking from buyers seeking a lifestyle property to call home. “It’s not all about the animals anymore,” she says.

“The key is in the word ‘lifestyle’ and we’re seeing people looking for properties that will enable them to combine a home with a hobby such as collecting cars, or a work-from-home opportunity.”

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