The Auckland home that once belonged to former newsreader John Hawkesby sold this week for an undisclosed sum well over the high $5-million range, after passing in at auction at $5.56m.
Hawkesby and his wife Joyce lived in the four-bedroom villa on a huge 997sqm site on Claude Road, Epsom, for nearly 20 years before selling it in 2002 for $1.25m.
The couple later moved to Waiheke Island, where they built a homestead on the slopes of Church Bay.
Bayleys agent Joe Telford, who marketed the property with Wei Wei Elder, said that after five or six bidders didn’t reach the hoped-for price at auction, the vendor had multiple offers and a sale deal within 24 hours that went unconditional this week.
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Confidentiality agreements prevent Telford from revealing the price or buyer, who was introduced by Bayleys North Shore offices.
Former broadcaster John Hawkesby with his daughter, Newstalk ZB host Kate Hawkesby. Photo / Norrie Montgomery
“It’s a large parcel of land in double grammar, and it is zoned for apartments so we had an unusual mix of buyers, from developers who might have bowled it to locals. We also had a lot of overseas enquiries from returning expats from Sydney, Singapore, the United Kingdom and USA.
“Some large parcels of land are selling to developers on this street. An older property on 938sqm sold in June for $5.1m so that set the benchmark price. It was an old villa that will be bowled, but this was bought for a large family home.”
An older villa on the same street sold to developers in June for $5.1m and will be bowled. Photo / Supplied
Telford said there was definitely an appetite for high-end houses from buyers with budgets that varied by as much as $5m or $10m.
“People are looking to move, they might have $5m, $10m, even up to $15m. It’s more about the opportunity to move, finances don’t seem to be a constraint. If they see something they like, they’re prepared to dig deeper.”
The house on 997sqm is zoned for apartments, so attracted developers before selling to a family. Photo / Supplied
He added that Epsom buyers were prepared to pay a premium for well-done properties, meaning a name architect and a good interior designer.
“If it’s done well, they’ll get out the cheque book.”
The Epsom home was Hawkesby’s base during the 1999 TVNZ news “fiasco”, which saw him removed from his news-reading duties after only three weeks on air and TVNZ facing questions from then prime minister Helen Clark after it had to pay him out $5.57m.
The vendors earlier told OneRoof that they learned from the family that once you move on you never really leave the Epsom house.
The house comes with a couple of heirlooms including a coal scuttle featuring carvings that match the fireplace. Photo / Supplied
“When the house turned 100, John Hawkesby brought his kids over along with a bottle of champagne to celebrate,” the owner said.
“The children of the owners before him once knocked on our door and asked if they could see what had been done to the house since they’d left.
“It feels like they have once been caretakers of this home, and when it was our turn and they moved on, they remained intrinsically attached to this place. We feel the same. After almost 20 wonderful years, a big chunk of our hearts will remain here when we close the door behind us for the last time.”
The house also comes with a couple of heirlooms that have been passed down from owner to owner since the home was first built: a big carved dresser and coal scuttle featuring carvings that match the fireplace.
