Buying guide

The attraction of a well-designed two bedroom home

Find out why a two bedroom home could be a good buy.

For those wanting to simplify their lives – empty nesters, young families or buyers at the beginning of their property journey – a two bedroom home can be just the thing. And in Auckland’s well-supplied housing market, there are some excellent examples of the perfect two bedroom home at the moment. You’ll find inspiration at a smart villa on the North Shore, at a 1930s beauty in Point Chevalier, to a modern two storey apartment in Grafton.

Growing numbers of people are looking for two bedroom homes because they’re cheaper than three bedroom homes, says Bill McKay, University of Auckland senior architecture lecturer. And this is a big plus in a lending environment where banks are lending less than they were in 2020 and 2021.

And indications from Stats NZ in recent years say that Aotearoa New Zealand has a growing number of single person households, couples without children, and couples without children living at home (or empty nesters). Almost a quarter of a million more couples are projected to be living without children by 2038, according to Stats NZ.

Bill, who has designed homes for Housing NZ and group house building companies, says he prefers designing a two bedroom home over a three bedroom one.

If you’re hoping for a sustainable, compact property next, it’s good to note that, with two bedroom homes, you end up with less hallway, making them more efficient, says the senior architecture lecturer. A two bedroom home will be more of a square shape, while three bedroom homes are typically a long rectangle with a hall. Two bedroom homes are also easier to fit on a site, he adds.

Where two bedrooms beats three

If you’re looking for some inspiring examples of two bedroom homes, Trade Me Property has a number on the site at the moment. Bayleys agent, Andrew Wallace is marketing a picture perfect, well-proportioned home at 1/227 Meola Road in Point Chevalier, built around the 1920s or 1930s.

Priced at $1.58 million, it would have sold for $1.7 million last year and it’s been very popular with Auckland buyers, says the Bayleys agent.

1/227 Meola Road, Point Chevalier, Auckland

The airy 90 sq m home with open plan kitchen, living, dining and excellent indoor outdoor living is appealing to young professionals, downsizers and small families, according to Andrew.

A number of homes have recently sold in Point Chevalier with the same footprint but with three bedrooms, says Andrew. This tends to mean the bedrooms are compromised while the two bedrooms at this pretty home are both very generous, he says.

At the same time, on the North Shore, private seller, Max Stewart is marketing a former investment property, a two bedroom, 90 sq m villa in Fairfax Avenue, Northcote. Beautifully presented, with brand new underfloor heating system, modern bathroom and designer kitchen, the villa has high ceilings to help give a feeling of space. Max says the staging by Sojo Design has helped display the home at its best.

7 Fairfax Avenue, Northcote, Auckland

The homeowner has replaced a window off the kitchen with a door to give the villa better flow to outside and it’s made a huge difference, he says.

Julie Rees from Sojo Design says she approached the home’s decor with a less is more approach. “We went for statement pieces not busy, bitsy things, a contemporary element but still in keeping with the era of the home,” she says.

The Northcote villa has a grand entrance and you wouldn’t think it was a two bedroom house from outside but it’s a great example of “simple living” says the interior designer. “It’s very light filled in all areas with huge big windows. People buy a house with three or four bedrooms and very rarely need them,” she adds.

In another inspiring example, Ray White agent, Elaine Ferguson is currently marketing an industrial-styled two bedroom brick unit in Point Chevalier. With a small home, the owner wants to have somewhere to go for coffee or wine at the end of the day, she says. This unit has a deck which is a real sun trap and a backyard. It’s also important to have a work from home solution for buyers, adds Elaine, who points out a spot to buyers.

3/23 Oliver Street, Point Chevalier, Auckland

Former state homes in the two bedroom category are ones to look out for. A Mt Roskill home being sold by Barfoot & Thompson agent, Derek Helliwell has resource consent to extend to a third bedroom. But for decades the former state house has been a two bedroom home and with 104 sq m, there’s plenty of floor space. Plus the single-zoned home has a 703 sq m yard and French doors opening from the lounge to the deck.

“The large deck adds outdoor living for months and months,” says Derek.

4 Donald Crescent, Mount Roskill, Auckland

Latest trends for near new two bedroom apartments

What design can you expect from new two bedroom homes? Within the second stage of the Lamont’s SKHY development in Khyber Pass Road, Cheshire Architect’s Pam Sando has designed two storey, two bedroom apartments, with a bedroom and and bathroom on each level. The two storey apartments were inspired by Le Corbusier’s modernist residential housing model in France, the Unité d'Habitation, says Pam.

“The beauty of the design is you get a dual aspect from both ends and circulation is limited. You can enter from the top or the bottom of the apartment which is good for the Airbnb market,” says Pam.

With the ability to separate, you could have one bedroom as an office upstairs and living on the lower level,” she suggests.

A 79 sq m home in the complex, currently up for sale, has an asking price of $1.050 million plus annual body corporate fee. It’s appealing to people who want a property they can lock ‘n leave, a parent buying for a student and wanting a spare bedroom, and to young professionals, says NZ Sotheby’s International Realty’s Lesley McLellan. Homes in the complex sold very quickly last year, she notes.

Two bedroom apartment in Grafton, Auckland.

How to maximise your two bedroom home’s space

Furniture designer and interiors expert, Laura Budd helped the vendor currently selling an attractive two bedroom Grey Lynn home in 7 Sussex Street, reconfigure the space in 2019. They also put in a big new deck and made the kitchen living dining area open plan with good connection to the deck.

7 Sussex Street, Grey Lynn, Auckland

“Incorporated together it all provides further space for living,” says UP agent, Kayne Harrison. For some, it’s an apartment alternative but it also comes with potential for capital growth because of the land, he adds.

Laura, who’s done several projects in small spaces, says: “At 7 Sussex Street, we wanted to make sure that the kitchen and dining room sat in the same footprint so there wasn’t an extra sectional divided part.” In other smaller homes she’s taken out a formal dining space for combined living rooms. The deck at the home doubled the living dining space, she says. There’s huge demand for outdoor rooms, explains Laura. They can be cosy rooms with blinds and insulated roofing.

The outdoor deck and awning enabled the homeowner to have a full kitchen at the Grey Lynn home. “Even though people want a smaller house, they don’t want a kitchenette,” says Laura who’s a strong advocate for cupboards all the way up to the ceiling.

Meanwhile in the bathroom at the Sussex Road property, Laura custom-made the vanity so she could put in a larger top-mounted sink. The shower door prior to this opened tight against the vanity.

Customised furniture can work very well in a smaller home, and because it’s smaller, it’s usually not too expensive, says the furniture designer.

Stackable furniture also works well in a small home, furniture that has dual uses, stools that fit together to be a bench seat, for instance.