Jodi Prior Real Estate

05/09/2026

Beaming gratitude and good wishes to the Dads and Grandads out there. Wishing you a day that fills your cup up.

03/09/2026

Some wait for a sign that the market is just right before making a move. Others make their own fate with good judgement and a practical plan.

I've written a short spring guide for the second lot. Who's buying on this coast right now, how your priorities — price, speed or certainty — shape the decisions you make, and how to present the home you have to the person whose life it fits. Four minutes to read.

This spring doesn't need luck. It needs a plan.

https://www.jodiprior.co.nz/blog/spring-seller-guide

05/06/2026

Into winter. Seeing quite a few properties quietly come off the market across North Rodney lately. If you're in that position heading into winter, I've put some thoughts together that might help.

jodiprior.co.nz/blog/why-hasnt-my-property-sold

26/05/2026

16/05/2026

“I’ll do it when things settle down.”

Most of us have said it.

About the holiday we keep putting off.
The career change we’re not quite ready for.
The life that feels one chapter away.

I said it about moving to Matakana.

Not because I didn’t want to. Because the weighing up process is real. You’re trading the known for the unknown. The city for somewhere that moves differently. The proximity and pulse of Auckland for something you can feel but can’t quite name yet.

For us, it was health that created the inflection point.

Living to work.
Busyness eating happiness.
The kind of tired that a weekend doesn’t fix.

Covid had already shown us what we needed — space, nature, time that belonged to us — and we couldn’t unsee it.

Ours isn’t the only story on my street.

The couple two doors down had just retired. They didn’t want to disappear into the countryside — they still wanted village life. Walking to the cinema and shops. Seeing friends at the pub. Catching the market on a Saturday morning. They wanted energy around them, just without the noise and density of the city.

Now they fall asleep to silence and wake up near the sea.

Lots of families moved here for their kids too. Wanting them to have the freedom and sense of safety they had growing up. Small schools where everybody knows everybody. Winter football in Warkworth. Junior surf lifesaving at Omaha in summer. The ice cream shop knows their orders. The kids know the names of the neighbours they pass on the way home.

My son does too.

That’s not a small thing.

In a world that keeps getting faster and more anonymous, knowing your people — and being known by them — matters more than we admit.

For most people, the hesitation is distance. But the motorway changed the numbers. Matakana to Auckland is fifty minutes now. On a good day, faster than some cross-city commutes used to be.

The move itself is rarely the hardest part.

It’s giving yourself permission to seriously consider it.

If you’ve been weighing it up too, I’m always happy to talk. Not to sell you anything. Just to share what the move actually looked like for us — the practicalities, the trade-offs, and the things nobody tells you until you’ve done it.

The wait was never protecting me. It was just habit.

09/05/2026

No plan for Mother's Day yet? Come to the Matakana Coast.
Sunrise at Omaha. Markets under the autumn trees. Rocks at low tide. Ice cream. Sunset at Tawharanui.
An hour from Auckland. Right now it's absolutely stunning.

06/05/2026

Autumn on the Matakana coast. Some properties have quietly disappeared from the market. Others have sold fast.

The vendors asking me why always get the same honest answer — it's rarely about timing.

I've written it down if you want to know what's actually making the difference right now.

🔗https://www.jodiprior.co.nz/blog/thinking-about-selling-matakana-coast

13/04/2026

We’ve just experienced a week of uncertainty regarding the weather, and for most of Auckland, it passed without major impact. However, it raises an important question:

What actually matters for your property after an event like this?

Most people tend to walk outside and take a look. They ask themselves:
- Where is the water going?
- Is anything under pressure?

These observations often hold the key to understanding how your property performs—not just what the headlines say.

I've compiled a straightforward approach to assess this, based on my observations along the Matakana Coast.

It's beneficial to consider these factors before the next weather event occurs, rather than during it.

For more insights, check out my blog post here:

We’ve just come through a week of uncertainty with Cyclone Vaianu—watching forecasts and wondering how our homes would hold up. Not in terms of headlines or future scenarios—but how it performed, and what that means for you. How is the property holding up? Where is the water going? Is anything...

31/03/2026

Love it or list it… or wait?

This is coming up a lot in conversations locally right now.

What we’re seeing on the Matakana Coast:
– Buyers are still active, but more selective
– Well-presented homes are standing out
– Many homeowners are weighing up whether to improve or move.

There’s no single right answer—it really depends on your situation.

Curious where you land at the moment…
Are you more stay and improve or move on?

I’ve pulled together a few thoughts on how people are approaching that decision in the current market.

👉http://www.jodiprior.co.nz/blog/love-it-or-list-it-a-practical-look-at-your-options-on-the-matakana-coast