An off-grid tiny home on a 4861sq m freehold section in Tolaga Bay, which sold for $80,000, was one of the cheapest sold in Gisborne last year. The vendor added digitally enhanced grass to this image. Photo / OneRoof
An off-grid tiny home on a 4861sq m freehold section in Tolaga Bay, which sold for $80,000, was one of the cheapest sold in Gisborne last year. The vendor added digitally enhanced grass to this image. Photo / OneRoof
An off-grid tiny home that sold for less than half the property’s rateable value and a $4.4 million homestead on 20ha represent the “two extremes” of the Gisborne property market in 2025.
The cheapest property listed on OneRoof to sell in Gisborne last year was in Tolaga Bay for $80,000.
The dwelling is a corrugated tiny house on a 4861sq m freehold section. Its latest RV was recorded as $197,000 in August 2023.
Three vacant Ruatōria properties not listed on OneRoof sold for $34,000, $60,000 and $70,000 in 2025.
OneRoof editor Owen Vaughan said properties in the cheapest price bracket in Gisborne were often vacant plots or plots with sheds or ruined homes.
A homestead on 20 hectares of land in Makauri was the most expensive residential sale in Gisborne in 2025, selling for $4.4m.
The 366sq m home built in the 1980s has five bedrooms and two bathrooms. It also comes with a swimming pool and a 225sq m hangar-style shed.
“There are two extremes in the Gisborne housing market, at the top end is the rarefied, lifestyle block market. These are typically New Zealand heritage or mansion-style homes,” Vaughan said.
Vaughan said houses in the $2m plus price bracket made up a very small portion of the Gisborne housing market.
Expansive ocean views were a major selling point for the second most expensive property to sell in Gisborne in 2025 in Ōkitu.
The next most expensive property to be sold in the last year was in Ōkitufor $3.5m.
The five-bedroom, three-bathroom house was built in 2001 with a 430sq m floor area. It has ocean views, an inground pool and is situated in a quiet cul-de-sac.
The property had an RV of $3.113m and was built 18 years ago.
Listing agent Bronwyn Kay told OneRoof at the time that the sale highlighted the strength of demand for high-end stock in Gisborne.
Speaking with the Gisborne Herald, Kay said Gisborne was “a picturesque city with beaches, bush, and rivers offering a café lifestyle without the big city prices.
“A beautiful home can be purchased from $800,000 upward.”
She works in the high-end market and said buyers were looking for quality homes in top locations with views.
“The company [The Agency] sells all price ranges, we are seeing a large number of first home buyers and investors looking at the low to mid range homes currently.”
Another Ōkitu property was the third most expensive in Gisborne last year, selling for $2.34m in September. The 250sq m home sits on a 3314sq m section.
This beachfront house on Salisbury Rd in Awapuni sold for $2.1m in 2025.
A block of seven flats in Cobden St sold for $2.2 million in March 2025.
The fifth-most expensive Gisborne property to sell in 2025 was a beachfront property in Awapuni, which sold for $2.1m.
According to data collected by Valocity Global, the value growth of Gisborne houses in 2025 was 1.1%, placing it at sixth out of 16 regions throughout New Zealand.
The average house price in Gisborne was $665,000 at the end of 2025.
