Mt Wellington is one of those Auckland suburbs that many people have heard of, but few know anything about.

Nestled between Panmure to the east and Ellerslie to the west, the suburb is bordered by Otahuhu to the south and is close to the affluent areas of Glendowie and St Heliers to the north.

The suburb itself is an eclectic mix of modern townhouses, family dwellings and state housing (much of it now ex-state). But it also throws up a delightfully surprising range of older character villas and bungalows - many in original condition, just waiting for keen renovators to move in

The obvious landmark is the mount itself, providing excellent panoramic views of the surrounding Auckland countryside and harbours. This spot is popular with both visitors and locals, keen to walk the dog on the weekend, as well as capture some of the city's history. The hill itself, while tackled by many keen runners, hikers, and bikers scaling their way to the top, offers a reasonably flat and easy stroll at the summit.

One of the noticeable views from the summit is the ex-Winstone quarry, now known as Stonefields. Stonefields is the model of future  higher-density housing with this area - along with Newmarket, Glen Innes, Panmure, Otahuhu and Avondale - being earmarked by Auckland City Council as a pole for growth.

Other views from the summit include the impressive array of local amenities, starting with the superbly landscaped University playing fields for rugby, cricket, tennis, netball and soccer on Merton Rd. Across the road from the University sports fields is, of course, the Tamaki campus itself. The campus caters to students pursuing some of Auckland University's modern degree offerings.

This institution adds to an already attractive area for investors wanting to secure good rental properties. For an average family home one can expect to receive more than $650 a week rent.

House prices, while viewed as being reasonable for Auckland, are now facing the same upward pressures as other inner city and surrounding suburbs. For example, nicely renovated, older character houses on decent-sized sections are commanding up and around the late $700,000-&800,000s, possibly more. Recently, in nearby Ellerslie, a renovated 2 bedroom unit sold at auction for $670,000. With these prices, one can only imagine what might happen to some of Mt Wellington's more sought-after character homes.

On average, a unit will sell upwards of $600,000 and a contemporary three-bedroom dwelling should fetch in excess of $950,000.

The demand from developers are at an all time high for the right site. Mixed housing suburban, terrace and apartment zoned land is red hot. However, the likelihood that a developer will go up, with apartments is low due to the cost to build therefore missing their target market, the first home buyer. An example of this is a development currently under construction in Barrack Road. An extremely high quality build, but because of that, could be missing the market due to a lack of knowledge of their target market. I have sold many city apartment developments off plan and unless you seek advice from people like myself who know your buyers a design rethink or failure of the project could be on the cards. I have found the projects will fail due to overspend on marketing and build cost rises during sell-down.

Shopping has improved in the area with Sylvia Park Mega Centre and numerous high profile chain stores including Rebel Sports, Harvey Norman, The Warehouse, Torpedo 7, and Briscoes, which complement the already existing array of DIY outlets, including Bunnings, Mitre 10 Mega, Pacemakers, Stone & Water World and numerous trade-related services.

One should never forget the fantastic walk around Panmure Lagoon, the strip shopping in Panmure, the New Panmure transport Centre and the local swimming pool and gym.

Good people I know:

MJB Law: website

BRIAN COWLEY SURVEYING LIMITED: 09-579 9127

LANDSCAPES FOR LIFE Emma 022 327 6189