While Hamilton has its big growth areas in the North East, Peacocke and Rotokauri, almost any residential property built between the 1920s and the 1970s is potentially open for redevelopment, says a local home building firm boss.
Yeoman Homes managing director Andrew Yeoman said the Rototuna and Flagstaff area was rapidly developing into a city in its own right - which would come closer to reality as the new Rototuna town centre was completed. Demand was such that a dozen properties his company recently released onto the market were snapped up within half a day, mostly by owner-occupiers.
Progress in Rotokauri and Peacocke growth areas had been a bit slower, but people should not overlook what was happening in the older suburbs, he said.
"The good thing in the older city fringe area is that the infrastructure is already in place. Typically they're close to amenities. Anywhere where parks and shops are within walking distance, people want to live there."
Population increase including immigration and Aucklanders moving to Hamilton - where they can still get a three to four-bedroom home for what they'd pay for an apartment north of the Bombays, was behind the surge in interest in Hamilton housing.