House sale no problem in heated city market

Steve Cave's dogs led him to his family's new home.

Walking Maggie and Ruby in the Hastings suburb of Mahora he came across wide-bermed York St, featuring large historic houses.

While they liked their three-bedroom home, it was feeling smaller as their two children grew.

It was time for a new house.

"It was the stage we were at with the family - our children were starting to move on from primary school and we had always had aspirations for a larger home," he said.

"We decided it was now or never.

"We weren't really considering the market because we were buying and selling in the same market."

When a large four-bedroom York St house hit the market they put in a good offer immediately, which was accepted before they had sold their own home last month.

Nerves were jangled at the prospect of paying two mortgages.

They need not have worried - the heated Hawke's Bay property market made the transition smooth.

"There was a huge amount of interest in our place - we were really surprised. We had about 35 groups through in five days and five offers."

They accepted an offer above their asking price, with the only condition a lawyer's seal of approval.

While their new home was only 800m away from their old one, moving house was not easy - they had to move out of their old home one week before they could move into their new one.

A storage unit was hired and their dogs and cat farmed out while the family stayed with relatives in Taradale.

Wife Michelle said she loves her new home.

"There is so much more space and two bathrooms make a real difference with a busy family," she said.

Their children have more room than most - 11-year-old Arnie and 9-year-old Alex clamber the back fence to Duke St Reserve.

A surprise bonus is a large avocado tree in their buxus-lined garden. They thought it might be diseased at first - some of the fruit look like figs - but it turns out the tree has several varieties grafted onto it.

"We are really pleased - we haven't looked back," Mr Cave said.