A "Simple" Greytown house, based on a design that won an affordable homes competition, is on the market for $725,000.
A scaled-down version of the newly built home's design was a winner at a competition held by the Department of Building and Housing earlier this year.
The competition, labelled the Simple House
Acceptable Solution, aimed at coming up with quality houses that were more affordable for first-home buyers.
Designs also had to readily comply with building standards, so as to streamline current compliance processes.
The house was listed yesterday at www.nzrealtors.co.nz for $725,000.
House owner Steve Jackson built the house after seeing it featured in the design in the national competition.
He decided to extend it, adding an en suite and double garage, and enlarge the decking.
"It's like a jewelled box," he said.
He said he had also significantly "specced up" the cladding and roofing on the initial design, resulting in the higher price tag.
"It may be a Simple House but it's not a simple price."
He said the flexibility and expandability of the design was its beauty, with a much more basic model of the house available much cheaper.
The Queenstown architect behind the house, Tony Koia of Koia Architects, said the original design for the house was easily adaptable and expandable.
With high insulation and specifications the "standard" model would cost about $250,000 to build, he said.
But the house could also be built cheaply "in multiples" for as low as $168,000.
Mr Koia said it had been a challenge to make the design so flexible.
"We had to completely rethink the design to make an affordable house that can go on multiple sites."
The competition received more than 140 entries from around the country, with the overall winning design going to an Auckland architect.
Criteria included a maximum cost of $1400 per square metre, a maximum floor area of 120 square metres, and low ongoing operating costs.
