One of Auckland’s earliest and grandest homes has hit the market, with expectations it will sell for $10 million-plus.
But the development potential of the 2107sqm of land the mansion sits on means a new owner could take a wrecking ball to the property.
While the listing for the 100-year-old mansion at 60 Argyle Street in Herne Bay talks up the property’s history and period features, it also highlights its zoning under the Auckland Unitary Plan.
“Known as Craigmore House, this stately residence occupies a significant land holding in the heart of Herne Bay,” the listing on OneRoof says.
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“This substantial character home and land package comes with a wide range of options. It offers the prospect of land-banking, potential development or conversion back to the grand old homestead it once was.”
The property’s Mixed Housing Suburban zoning would allow the owner to remove or demolish the mansion and build in its place multiple townhouses.
According to the latest OneRoof figures, the average property value in Herne Bay is $3.677m, up more than $650,000 on September last year.
Craigmore House has a CV of $8.2m and was bought in 2018 for $7.616m. The listing simply says: “Overseas vendors want this sold!”
The property, bought in 2018 for $7.616m, sits on 2107sqm of land. Photo / Supplied
At the time of the purchase, some local campaigners complained that the house needed heritage protection to stop any future buyer from demolishing it.
Craigmore House isn’t the only colonial era home to hit the Herne Bay market in recent months, but is the only one to have the lucrative Mixed Housing Suburban zoning.
A grand two-storey property house at 38 Hamilton Road was listed at the end of July with Graham Wall Real Estate and is for sale by negotiation.
The five-bedroom home, which has a CV of $7.8m and is expected to sell for $10m-plus, was flipped several years ago by rich-lister Diane Foreman after she carried a top-to-toe renovation with her business partner, interior designer James Doole.
38 Hamilton Road in Herne Bay, Auckland is for sale by negotiation. Photo / Supplied
And a grand family home on nearby Stack Street sold during lockdown after being listed with an asking price of $12m. Known as the Goldie House, the property was built by David Goldie, the father of renowned Kiwi artist Charles Frederick Goldie.
The listing agent, Bayleys’ Edward Pack had described the updated house as “one of Herne Bay’s most significant family homes”.
“It is one of those homes where every room you look out of reinforces that feeling of calmness. There’s a beautiful natural light that wraps itself right around the property,” he told OneRoof in July.
The sale price of Goldie House has not been disclosed but it will have to exceed $14m to become Herne Bay’s biggest sale this year.
That record is currently held by a five-bedroom 1960s-built home on Sarsfield Street. The waterfront property sold in March for $14m – double its $7m CV – less than a month after hitting the market.
The highest settled sale price overall this year is $15.6m, for a mansion on Victoria Avenue in Auckland's Remuera.
