The Kāpiti Life

07/09/2026

House hunting on Father’s Day. . . would anyone actually turn up?

We’ve chosen to run a shortened campaign at 16 Cranbrook Grove, which meant yesterday was going to tell us quite a lot.

It was Father’s Day. It was windy — very Kāpiti — and people had plenty of other ways they could have been spending their Sunday.

Would buyers fit an open home around their plans? And would we see enough interest to stick with the shorter campaign — or would we need to rethink it?

Come with me for Sunday Stories on the Kāpiti Coast. . .

03/09/2026

This one is here to be sold.

As we know, some of Waikanae’s finest homes sit quietly out of sight — and 16 Cranbrook Grove is certainly one of them.

Set well back from the road, this substantial 240sqm home sits across 859sqm of freehold land, surrounded by established gardens in one of those quietly held Waikanae cul-de-sacs that people tend to stay in.

Three double bedrooms. An office. Generous living. Everything you need on the main level, with an entirely different dimension upstairs.

But here’s what matters: our vendors’ next move is confirmed. Their motivation is clear.

We have just two weekends of open homes before Deadline Sale on Thursday 17 September.

Four open homes. Two weekends. One very motivated move.

There’s more here than the photographs can tell you.

01/09/2026

New month. New season.

Spring on the Kāpiti Coast doesn’t arrive all at once.

Winter sports get swapped for summer ones. The vege boxes get cleared and planted again. Weekends start to include more time at the beach and plans begin forming for the months ahead.

You start waking up with the light, rather than before it. Getting out of bed gets slightly easier. Washing actually has a chance of drying outside.

There are more walks after dinner. Doors stay open a little longer and, week by week, the days stretch further into the evening.

And somehow September always feels like the beginning of the run towards summer and Christmas.

Chances are there’ll still be wind & rain. Probably a few days that feel suspiciously like July.

But today is a new month and a new season.

Spring on the Coast. I’m ready for you.

27/08/2026

One of my favourite things about living here is that I can train at 11am on a Wednesday. . .

Which sounds very wholesome, but mostly means having someone expecting me so I can’t decide I’m suddenly too busy to get to the gym 😬

I’ve been working out with Jude for a while now and have followed her over to Ascend Fitness’ new home in Raumati.

It is such a fantastic space - a PT Only studio that’s private, comfortable, no waiting around for equipment and, most importantly, I get to make training work around my life rather than the other way around.

Because somewhere amongst work, kids, school drop offs and everything else, I’ve realised it’s actually really important for me to make time for myself and my health.

Next up, I’m trying one of their spin classes.

Currently feeling very enthusiastic about this decision - that may change 😅

21/08/2026

Could the Kāpiti Coast become one of New Zealand’s great golf destinations?

It’s an interesting question — and perhaps not as far-fetched as it first sounds.

We already have Paraparaumu Beach Golf Club, one of New Zealand’s most recognised links courses. Royal Wellington sits further south, and now Douglas Links is taking shape on the coastline at Ōhau.

A recent Forbes article explored what happens when great golf courses exist within easy reach of one another: rather than being individual destinations, together they can give people a reason to travel to an entire region.

And that raises some interesting questions for us here on the Coast.

What could increased golf tourism mean for Kāpiti and Horowhenua? Could it bring more visitors, investment, hospitality and opportunities to the region? And could having world-class golf on our doorstep eventually influence where people choose to live?

I’ve written the first in a new series exploring golf, property and place, including a rather brilliant throwback to learning to play golf in her Paraparaumu garden in 1991.

Have a read below — would love to know what you think.

Could Kāpiti become part of a genuine international golf destination?

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/could-k%C4%81piti-coast-become-one-new-zealands-great-golf-sarah-mcanulty-gisoe?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios&utm_campaign=share_via

I found these photographs in an old family album this week and they sent me down a bit of a rabbit hole. That's me in March 1991, learning to play golf in the garden of the home my parents had built in Paraparaumu.

03/08/2026

This morning’s run along Peka Peka Beach came with a reminder of one of the Coast’s most iconic buildings.

The Sand Castle Motel, designed by renowned New Zealand architect Roger Walker in the early 1970s.

Even sitting quietly behind the dunes, it still has so much character. I’ve heard about it but never actually seen it for myself. I wonder what stories those walls could tell after decades of welcoming holidaymakers to the Coast.

Wouldn’t it be amazing to see it restored and opened to the public again?

One of the things I’m enjoying most about these Monday runs/ walks is discovering (or rediscovering) the places that make Kāpiti so unique. . .

29/07/2026

One email.

Over 70 local agents.

One simple message.

If you have the right buyer, we’d love to work with you.

Sometimes I think our industry forgets that we’re all working towards the same goal.

Yes, we’re competitors.

But more importantly, we’re trusted to achieve the very best outcome for the people who have chosen us to represent them.

For us, that means putting our vendors first.

If another agent has the perfect buyer, why wouldn’t we make it as easy as possible to work together?

The response to this email genuinely surprised me. Messages and offers of support from agents across the Kāpiti Coast reminded me that collaboration still exists in this industry.

And that’s exactly how it should be.

Because at the end of the day, the commission is secondary.

The outcome for our vendors isn’t.

🤝 Collaboration over competition. Every time.