Ahead of the return of New Zealand’s Best Homes, Tara Ward presents host Phil Spencer with some options that weirdly missed the cut.
When The Spinoff spoke to Phil Spencer back in February, he had just finished filming the second season of New Zealand’s Best Homes. The British house-hunting expert was calling from the Bay of Islands, having spent the previous five weeks touring the country in search of our most impressive houses. It was the second consecutive summer Spencer had spent in Aotearoa, and he’d made the most of his time here, squeezing in some fly fishing, sea fishing, mountain biking, horse trekking, walking and “quite a bit” of golf. “Last January 700 people unfollowed me on Instagram,” he chuckled. “I was clearly having too good a time.”
Spencer has been a favourite on New Zealand television screens for many years, thanks to his presenting roles on long-running and hugely popular property shows like Location Location Location (43 seasons and counting) and Love It or List It, alongside Kirstie Allsopp. He’s television’s most irresistibly likeable chap, with his genial charm and sensible advice appealing to viewers here and in the UK, regardless of whether he’s helping homeowners search for a one-bedroom flat in Huddersfield or a million dollar mansion in Mayfair.
For a change of scenery, Spencer travelled halfway around the world to make New Zealand’s Best Homes, the property series that celebrates the best of our architecture and landscape. The first season was well received in both Aotearoa and Britain, which meant he got to return to discover another 18 luxury properties in stunning locations. Spencer noted that while the houses he visits are undoubtedly high end, most are understated in their style. “They’re low key, but they’re not showy, they’re not bling. I think that’s very attractive. It’s very seductive.”
Spencer was particularly impressed by the innovative ways New Zealand houses are built, and how each home connects with the environment around it. “The creativity of the architects and the skill level of the craftsmen has been off the scale. I don’t think I’ve seen craftsmanship like this anywhere else in the world,” he said. He was also fascinated with our obsession with oversized front doors and houses that have no front door at all. This season, he visited several holiday homes without a front door, leaving him bewildered. “When you’re on holiday, why don’t you want a front door?”
Spencer had been on a mission to find New Zealand’s best homes, but The Spinoff had a few of our own suggestions that strangely had been left off the official list. We sent Spencer photos of several famous New Zealand homes for his consideration, and asked for the property expert’s first impressions. While these houses may not be as opulent or enormous as those we see on New Zealand’s Best Homes, they’re still pretty snazzy in their own right – and they all have lovely front doors.
We set the bar high with Premier House, the recently-refurbished official residence of the prime minister, located in Wellington. Spencer was impressed. “The proportions look sensational,” he reckoned. “There’s a sense of grandeur that leaps off the photo. It looks like it’s in a commanding position, which is obviously rather apt.”
From executive lodgings to everyone’s house: the West family home from Outrageous Fortune and Westside. “I’m not quite sure when it was built, but it certainly wouldn’t have been your finest period of architecture,” Spencer said politely. “It looked quite plain, but very functional.” (The 1960s-era West Auckland property was demolished in 2021). Then, it was a quick hop, step and a jump to The Boot, a quirky little B&B near Nelson. Has Spencer ever wanted to spend the night in New Zealand’s Best Shoe? “I couldn’t really fathom it. It doesn’t make sense to my small brain.”
Spencer hadn’t visited Hobbiton, but he was a fan of Bilbo Baggins’ underground hobbit hole (“cute, cosy and characterful”) and liked everything that Larnach Castle (built in 1871) had to offer. “A castle has a great sense of history and grandeur. If the walls could speak, they’d have an awful lot of stories.” Unexpectedly, Canterbury’s space-like Area 51 Futuro-Dome house also impressed him. “I thought that was really cool. It’s not really my thing, so I was quite surprised at my reaction. I loved it.”
Finally, we discussed the spectacular Paua Shell house, formerly of Bluff. The Englishman didn’t know what to make of this iconic piece of Kiwiana. “Weirdness. Just plain weird. I’m afraid that’s all I’ve got.”
Weird or grand, rural or suburban, there’s no doubt Spencer loves visiting New Zealand houses. Even after 25 years of poking through other people’s properties on TV, he remains curious about why people live in the homes they do. “I find it endlessly fascinating, wandering around houses, great or small, and wondering, what suits one person and why?” New Zealand’s Best Homes is Spencer’s dream gig, and as he prepared for his flight back to the UK the following day, Spencer said there was no doubt New Zealand was a marvellous place to live – boots and all.
“It’s such a beautiful country, and I hope and pray that New Zealanders don’t take it for granted. It really is a very special place.”
New Zealand’s Best Homes with Phil Spencer starts on TVNZ1 on Sunday September 14 at 7.30pm, and streams on TVNZ+.
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