The four-bedroom home on Westmere’s premier waterfront street, originally built for the record producer and song writer of OMC’s hit single How Bizarre, sold after a little over two weeks on the market for $6.2 million.
That’s $1.1m more than it changed hands for just two months ago.
Bayleys agent Gary Wallace, who marketed the Guy Tarrant-designed home of concrete and cedar with Vicki and Andrew Wallace, couldn’t comment on the background of the quick turnaround sale but said the vendors had done a beautiful job updating the kitchen and bathroom, putting in new landscaping and making plans for a pool and poolhouse on the back of the roomy 721sqm site.
Bidding started at $5.5m, and after negotiation the hammer came down at $6.2m.
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“We saw it going for the high $5m to $6m price range, and that’s what it got. It’s a very strong market and a good quality property. It was an absolutely beautiful kitchen refurbishment.
“Guy Tarrant is a real talent, he’s an artist, it doesn’t get much better than this.”
The two-month refurbishment of the Rawene Avenue, Westmere, Auckland house included new landscaping. Photo / Supplied
The home was commissioned in 2005 by Alan Jansson and his wife. Jansson co-wrote and produced OMC’s 1996 hit song How Bizarre, which reached No. 1 in the United States.
However, after only nine months in the house, having just finished recording Hello Sailor's Unplugged album, the Janssons sold up to move to a country property where they could combine home and recording studio.
The striking architecture includes a timber living room block at the front, a two-storeyed concrete bedroom and bathroom wing at the back, cantilevered over the garage and street. Tarrant used Tasmanian ash, Fijian kauri, stacked concrete block, cedar, plywood, and a touch of limestone, with decking opening up to stunning views across the water and Sky Tower.
The vendors had commissioned a new pool and poolhouse design by architect David Ponting. Photo / Supplied
Last month the Wallaces had sold another house in Westmere, a waterfront renovation on Winsomere Crescent that fetched $7.62m. Wallace told OneRoof the Rawene Avenue buyer had also been through that property.
“People are focused on the area and when such a good quality property comes up, they re-engage with us.
“We’ll see a lot of growth in this area, it’s got close proximity to the city, it’s near the water, it ticks all the boxes and people know that.”
A new designer kitchen and upgraded bathroom modernised the 2005 house. Photo / Supplied
The neighbourhood is rapidly gaining a reputation for Herne Bay-type prices, with a double waterfront home selling for last year’s record price of $24m paid by ZURU Toys owner Anna Mowbray and former All Black Ali Williams and $17.68m paid for a neighbouring property owned by former Tauranga mayor Tenby Powell and entrepreneur Sharon Hunter. That property had been on the market for four years, initially with a $20m asking price, and hit global headlines for its famous tenant, Hollywood action star Jason Statham.
Last week, another waterfront Westmere property on Sunny Brae Avenue fetched $6.2m under the hammer.
