Prestons and Waitikiri

Twenty years ago the land that is now Prestons was open, low lying farmland on the city’s north eastern edge. Built through the 2010s as Christchurch looked for solid ground after the earthquakes, it is now home to more than five thousand people. Alongside it, the streets around Waitikiri Drive back onto one of the city’s most established green spaces, with Waitikiri and Bottle Lake golf courses and Bottle Lake Forest a short distance away, which gives the area a rare combination of modern homes and mature surroundings.

Those who buy here are often young families and couples moving up, drawn by homes built to recent standards, the New World and shops at Prestons Village, Waitākiri Primary School, and quick routes to the airport and the northern motorway. Most will have looked at other newer neighbourhoods before arriving here, and they come with a clear sense of what sets Prestons apart.

Because so many homes here are of a similar age and specification, a sale turns on the details that set one apart: the outlook and orientation of the section, the quality of the landscaping and finishing, the builder’s reputation, and how well the home has been looked after since it was new. Presenting those qualities clearly, to buyers who will be walking through several comparable homes the same weekend, is where a campaign earns its keep.