A five-bedroom heritage-listed mansion next to Government House has been put on the market for sale with an $8 million price tag, after failing to find a buyer in a deadline sale last month.
The heritage property, which is known as Amohia, was built in the 1880s and sits on 1262sqm of land on one of Auckland's most prestigious streets.
The owners of 127 Mountain Road, in Epsom, told OneRoof through their representative that they were now living overseas and were looking for a new family to make it their home.
The property, which has a 2021 CV of $5.9m and is in walking distance to Auckland Grammar and Epsom Girls, is being marketed by Ray White agents Cherie Barker and Ken Choong.
Start your property search
Barker told OneRoof last month that villas of the style, size and quality of 127 Mountain Road rarely came up for sale in the neighbourhood.
“I can’t pick the best thing about this house. There’s nothing lacking here – I absolutely love it,” she said.
Read more:
- Villa fit for a supermodel: DJ and Remix founder Tim Phin relists his Grey Lynn party house
- House next door to the Dotcom mega-mansion for sale
- $10m-plus penthouse comes with garage that’s bigger than most Kiwi homes
“It’s beautifully located close to Westfield and good schools, it has grand proportions, many original features remain, the preservation is impeccable, and it has great charm and character.”
Originally built for a prominent merchant in the late 19th century, the two-storey villa was moved from Princes Street to Mountain Road in 1903.
It later became a boarding house for the nuns who worked at nearby Mercy Hospital before being turned back into a single residence.
The covered conservatory, which has a fireplace and can be enclosed against the weather, has a spectacular mosaic tiled floor and looks out to the heated pool. Photo / Supplied
Spread over 455sqm, the home has five bedrooms, four bathrooms, triple garaging, two living rooms, a library, office, two dining areas, a conservatory and pool, which all sit on 1262sqm. Photo / Supplied
According to Heritage New Zealand, the villa was briefly owned in the 1920s by the philanthropist Frank Mappin “while he developed Birchlands, later known as Government House Auckland, on an adjoining property”.
The villa was modernised in the early 2000s and was bought by the vendors in 2016 for $5.36m.
The family's spokesman said that they had been looking for the right house for some time and had come across the house in a Chinese newspaper. “They had even looked at new-builds, but there were none that suited their taste,” the spokesman said.
127 Mountain Road was originally owned by a merchant, and moved to its present site in Epsom in 1903. It later became a boarding house for the nuns working at nearby Mercy Hospital. Photo / Supplied
The house features five bedrooms, four bathrooms, a library, formal and informal dining areas, a heated pool and triple-car garaging.
“The very large formal dining area off the kitchen has a huge fireplace that is wonderful for entertaining. You can imagine past eras when everyone dressed up for formal dinner parties,” Barker told OneRoof.
The villa still has the original pressed-steel ceilings, large sash windows, finely crafted mouldings and ornate fireplaces throughout, and the manicured gardens run alongside the grounds of Government House, in Glenfell Place.
Barker said the renovations had been completed “to an incredibly high standard, preserving the character of the house while also updating it to meet modern standards of comfort and convenience”.
When pushed by OneRoof to nominate her favourite room in the villa, she picked the library, which she said was lined with enough built-in shelving to accommodate the most voracious readers. “It's the best thing about the house,” she said.
- Click to find more properties for sale in Auckland
