An award winning house for sale in Auckland's blue-chip eastern bays suburb of St Heliers has attracted a huge amount of buyer interest – even during the city’s lockdown.
Tenders for the five-bedroom home on a 1201sqm section at 7 Pamela Place close at 4pm on Thursday.
Barfoot and Thompson agent Paul Neshausen, who is marketing the property, says that has drawn “tons of interest”.
Neshausen, who just sold a neighbouring luxury home at 21 Edmund Street last week for $5 million, told OneRoof: “We listed the day before Auckland went into lockdown. It was a bit of a leap of faith. But people have been surfing the internet all day and we’ve had 25 groups through the property in private viewings. They’re all qualified buyers.”
Start your property search
The house won the alterations and additions gong at the 2019 New Zealand Institute of Architects’ Auckland awards. Neshausen said the sale price “is going to start with a five”, adding that the 2017 CV of $3.4 million does not reflect the renovation the vendors had carried out.
7 Pamela Place was completely renovated by architect Daniel Marshall. Photo / Supplied
“This is one of the most architecturally complete homes I have had on the market. The only word I can think of is ‘masterpiece’,” Neshausen said.
“We nailed the photos and videos, and when people got there I don’t think there was one negative comment. It looks like the Hollywood Hills."
The property was in poor condition when the current owners bought it in 2015. The couple, Jeremy Fergusson and Emma Winsloe, had made an offer within half an hour of viewing it and by the end of the day, the deal was signed and the house was theirs.
They started transforming the 1970s house almost immediately. It was the work of celebrated Kiwi architect Robert Railley but for the redesign the couple engaged architect Daniel Marshall.
The stylish timber ceiling was and sunken living room are striking. Photo / Supplied
The couple asked him to open up the house and make it friendlier for a family with school-aged children: “All of those design cues were what we were interested in and Daniel picked up on that. But the house was back to front inside, and it had two long hallways that followed its L-shaped form,” Jeremy Fergusson told OneRoof.
The couple lived on site during the renovation, watching as the house came to alive on its original footprint. The irreparable bedroom wing roof made way for new mezzanine master bedroom quarters. The original kitchen is now a sitting area looking out to a deck near the new kitchen that is an elegant backdrop near the new dining area.
The position of kitchen and bedrooms was swapped around to make the most of the site. Photo / Supplied
Neshausen said the competitive bidding for his Edmund Street listing, where two buyers - one overseas, one local - battled it out for the property in $5000 increments, showed that there wasn't enough stock in the upper price range.
Agents have also told OneRoof that returning expats are putting upward pressure on prices in the $3 million bracket in Auckland.
- Additional reporting by Robyn Welsh
