A Grand Designs home that drove its creator to the brink but ended up netting him a prestigious award is on the market for sale.
Property developer Sky Mason spent $1.5 million building a nautically-themed getaway on a deserted island close to his home in Tairua.
The three-bedroom house, on Slipper Island, comes with a helipad, a jetty and a stunning view of the Coromandel.
The agent marketing the property, Gregers Andersen, of New Zealand Sotheby’s International Realty, expects it will sell for around $3m. Mason appeared on the 2017 season of the hit show, and the challenges he faced building on a remote island with restricted access had left an emotional scar.
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Sky Mason, right, with former Grand Designs host Chris Moller at the end of his ordeal. Photo / Three
In the show, he told Grand Designs host Chris Moller: "Everyone says, 'It's going to be bloody hard'. Even the builders have been saying, 'He's mad - what's he doing?"
When Moller at the end of the build if he'd ever think about building a home like this again, Mason's replied: "No, not on an island, ever. I wouldn't recommend it."
However, the house ended up winning the Master Builders House of the Year in 2018.
Andersen said the house's TV fame was a selling point with buyers. “It piqued a lot of interest and there’s a level of fascination and curiosity in it,” he said, adding that he had gotten enquiries from Australia and a few Waikato farmers.
“You can be a robust Kiwi character to be dealing with this lifestyle and it doesn’t get more robust Kiwi than Waikato farmers,” he laughed.
The three-bedroom home runs on solar power and is completely off grid. Photo / Supplied
The house is located on a 5348sqm section on Slipper Island and runs on solar power. It is for sale by deadline, closing June 24,
Andersen said it was Mason's dream to live on the island but his plans had now changed. “It was his childhood dream to have that feeling of not being bothered by life and its hectic-ness and to have a place of tranquillity that family and friends could enjoy while going fishing or diving for crayfish,” he said.
Last year, a five-bedroom home in Mangawhai that also featured on Grand Design sold under the hammer for $4m, way above its $1.93m rating valuation.
About 116 groups viewed the property known as the Jetty House, which was made up from four linked pavilions hat looked like boatsheds and was made from many recycled materials.
