The $8 million paid for one of the penthouse apartments in The Pacifica, a 57-level luxury apartment tower in Auckland's central city, is the highest since the market peak of 2016.
Gavin Lloyd, national director of CBRE, which is marketing the 282 apartments in Commerce St, says this is the highest price since the $15 million paid by ex-pat Kiwi businessman Chris Liddell in 2016 for a penthouse in the former Fonterra building, The International, on Princes St.
While The Pacifica deal is confidential, Lloyd can say that the buyer is a wealthy Austrian businessman who has recently bought other commercial assets in New Zealand, and forms part of his residency application to become a New Zealand citizen.
But Lloyd says that, despite the Hengyi-developed luxury property being the first to get exemption from the Overseas Investment Office so they could sell to foreigners, most of the buyers have been locals or overseas Kiwis planning to return home.
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The penthouses have winter gardens, terraces that can be opened or closed off as a further living room. Photo / supplied
Seven of the nine penthouse apartments, which occupy the three levels above floor 50, have sold. The super-penthouse on levels 53 and 54, which has a record asking price of $35 million, is yet to find a buyer. According to earlier accounts, each penthouse floor will be 636sq m, featuring cellar and wine tasting room, media room, library, gym, sauna, spa and steam room, art gallery, sky garden with double-height ceiling, personal office and boardrooms.
“One buyer is from Europe, but the rest are people moving into the city from the suburbs. It’s a similar trend growing around the world,” says Lloyd.
“Auckland was behind the times, we had a love affair with the green backyard and picket fence. But now wealthy travelers like the idea of lock up and leave, they’re global movers, and this is a world-class facility.”
The Pacifica’s developers, Melbourne-based Hengyi, have luxury properties in Sydney and Melbourne, and Lloyd says CBRE was able to tap into its network of 130 specialist offices in Australia and Asia. The company is about to announce the partners for the boutique 45 room hotel.
“It’s not a typical brand, it will be quite unique, a curated product,” he said.
Unlike in some international markets, only one top end buyer has brought in their own interior designers, the rest of the penthouse buyers happy with the layouts and finishes offered by The Pacifica.
“We’re pretty chuffed about that, we’re thinking we got it right,” says Lloyd.
The 57-level building in Commerce St will top out in April, making it one of Auckland city's tallest buildings. Photo / supplied
The company has just released the last tranche of 30 apartments for sale, meaning that the project is now nearly 90 percent sold. The 57-level tower (the top three floors are for services) tops out next month, and construction, which began in November 2017, is on target for completion by the end of this year. CBRE has just opened a finished apartment on level 9 and Lloyd says there is a waiting list of buyers keen to get a look at the real thing.
“These are very astute people at that level; they will have done their research. When we bring them to town, it’s not a hard sell. It’s an international-quality offering that’s not elsewhere,” Lloyd says, adding that he and several of the project team have bought apartments in the development themselves.
Facilities include sauna, spa pool and gym, a media room and wine cellar, boardroom offices and 24 hour concierge services. The apartments, which range in sizes from 60 sq m to the 235 sq m penthouse, have selling prices which start at $853,000.
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