Auckland's oldest surviving house - a five-bedroom colonial homestead in Parnell - is for sale.
24 Ruskin Street is set to go under the hammer on March 18, more than 170 years after it was first built, with expectations that it will fetch a top price.
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The listing of the home follows recent multi-million-dollar sales of similar homesteads in the inner-city suburb.
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A two-storey house at 57 St Georges Bay Road, which had been billed as renovation project, sold at auction this week for $7.2 million while a renovated house on 1386m² at 40 St Stephens Avenue sold for $9.75 million.
Ray White Epsom agent Ross Hawkins, who is marketing the property with colleague Caleb Rufer, said that while the house had been upgraded and boasted a luxury finish it still retained much of its original character.
“Many people have done horrible ‘70s add-ons to houses of this era which destroys the character of the home,” Hawkins told OneRoof.
“The beauty of this home is that it looks like it could still step out of the history books and into 2021.”
Hawkins said the property's massive attic space had potential to become a whole new level of living.
The house, which has a 2017 CV of $4.7 million and sits on a 1292sqm section, has been in its time used as a police hostel, a kennel, and even a brothel.
In its earliest days, the property was referred to as the "city farm" because of the amount of land it covered.
The house, seen in the centre of the picture, in the 1850s. Photo / Supplied
Many notable families have lived in the house, including the Tattersfields of the well-known mattress-manufacturing business, and the Stanboroughs, whose plaster work can be seen in the interior of the city's Civic Theatre.
Another owner, ex-broadcaster Catherine Saunders, believes the brother of New Zealand artist Goldie lived here at one stage.
The current owners, who bought the property in 2006, told OneRoof that they had done much to upgrade it.
The house has been sensitively renovated to retain many original features. Photo / Supplied
Timbers in the house still bear the builders' carvings. Photo / Supplied
“We installed ducted heating, updated the insulation, and built a new fence which is in keeping with the Parnell style of picket fences. But every improvement that has been done over the years fits seamlessly into the original era of the property. It’s quite an imposing heritage house from the street.”
They added: “Mr Stanborough produced two identical Peter Pan pictures out of plaster. One was at the Civic and the other is embedded into the wall on our staircase.”
Parnell's housing market has benefited from the post-Covid buying boom, with properties doing particularly well at auction.
A picturesque early 1900s bay villa at 5 Stratford Street this week had nine bidders pushing the price to $2.65 million, well above its $2 million CV.
Bayleys agent Fleur Denning, who marketed the property, said that streets in this part of the suburb, near the Rose Gardens, Rosie café and Parnell Primary school, attracted a big following from both young families or downsizers moving from bigger houses.
“These are families who want this pocket of Parnell. They’re very location specific. Whether it’s do-ups or homes already done up, they’re popular either way, they just want this area. People stay in them once they’re done."
