The Block NZ's Rach ‘THE NEIGHBOURS THOUGHT WE'D DIVORCED!'

The Bay of Plenty real estate queen welcomes us into her dream home and introduces her beloved whānau

- Annemarie Quill

When many New Zealanders were queuing up at supermarkets to bulk-buy toilet paper before the country went into lockdown, The Block NZ’s Rachel Martin was pushing her trolley down the eerily empty aisles of Bunnings, stocking up on nails, plywood, tools and anything else she might need for weeks of home isolation.

Renovation is not just a passion but a lifestyle for army corporal-turned-real estate agent Rach, 42, and her partner, former army officer Graeme, 46, who have been renovating houses together for 21 years.

Their three children, Jayde, 18, Quin, 16, and Liam, 15, grew up on building sites as the family moved every three to four years.

Rach laughs, “We have old photos of Jayde as a toddler playing with a box of nails and Graeme made mini workstations for the boys. The kids know how hard we worked to get where we are now.”

The family’s palatial beachside home in Papamoa, complete with a swimming pool and designer living spaces, is a far cry from the small Levin house Rach grew up in with her five siblings – and it’s the result of hard building work, she explains.

“I come from a humble background. While our military pay was not great, we realised early on that we had a flair for renovation. The first house we bought was so run down. When I told my mother the vision I had for it, she said, ‘You’ll never do all that.’ But we did! To this day, Mum has never doubted that I’ll achieve whatever I set out to do.”