Sci-fi enthusiasts are in for a treat. An original 1974 futuristic home in New Zealand has just been put on the market and architecture fanatics are going crazy over it. 

Juanita Clearwater wasn’t expecting such positive responses when her family put their Futuro house in Warrington, New Zealand up for sale. Since posting their holiday home on the TradeMe website, it has received loads of media attention around the world and 40 serious offers from interested parties.

An exceptionally rare catch if found, Futuro houses were created during the 1970s by Finnish architect Matti Suuronen. There are only 100 of these UFO-esque structures in existence. 

Clearwater’s Futuro house was originally constructed as one of 12 in Christchurch and was displayed at the 1974 Commonwealth Games before being transported to its current location, Warrington, in 1975. It is said that, as part of the original sale, homeowners had to exhibit their UFO homes to the general public for two days before they were allowed to move in. 

Suuronen’s UFO homes were designed as prefabricated constructions. Their egg-like forms were built up in sections using fibreglass-reinforced polyester plastic. Innovative for the time, they could be constructed on site simply by bolting individual segments to each other. 

Clearwater, an architectural designer herself, told The Guardian: “There is something magical about the shape of an egg, its smoothness and strength and the spaceship is like that; it is an iconic shape that attracts you.”

The quirky structure has a further twist to its tale, as the Clearwater family originally bought it four years ago from Grant Major, the production designer of the Lord of the Rings film trilogy. 

The one-bedroom, one-bathroom home boasts a 63 square metre floor area, with 1,032 square metres of land too, which means there is plenty of space to build another home on the site. 

Though the selling price is up for negotiation, Clearwater has previously received offers of around US$289,000 (£220,000) for the property. She is more concerned with the intentions of the potential buyer. “I want it to go to someone who, like me, has wanted one their whole life. It is time to pass it on”, she told the Guardian. 

With stunning views overlooking Bluesky Bay, its future owner will purchase a unique home that is also a collector's item.