Buyers are willing to shell out top-dollars for homes on New Zealand’s richest and most prestigious streets ... but the problem is the ones they want don't come up for sale that often.
Orakei, in Auckland, boasts some of the country's most expensive houses, including one that still holds the record for New Zealand's highest residential sale price - the the mansion built by financier and director of failed Hanover Group Mark Hotchin, which sold for $38.5m in 2013.
There have only been 10 settled sales in Orakei so far this year and the highest amount paid was $5.7m in February for a property on Titai Street, and while it’s a far cry from the $20m sale on Paritai Drive last year and the $12.5m sale on Karori Crescent in 2021, agents say they still have wealthy buyers ready to pounce when they find a property they love.
Bayleys agent Sarah Liu has a number of buyers willing to spend between $10m to $13m plus for properties on these prestigious streets. Most of them are looking for homes with amazing water views that don’t need any work. “They have the ability to afford to buy a luxury house as long as they like it,” she says.
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Liu said buyers are drawn to Paritai Drive, Okahu Street and Karori Crescent because of the impressive and uninterrupted views a lot of houses on these streets boast. They will also consider properties on other streets in neighbouring suburbs such as Ronaki Road in Mission Bay providing they offer the same things, she says.
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Properties with sought-after views also come with some equally impressive price tags. A recently renovated seven-bedroom, seven-bathroom Ron Sang-designed home at 10 Okahu Street, and a six-bedroom, six-bathroom Italianate Hollywood-style mansion at 9 Karori Crescent are both currently for sale with price indications of about $15m.
Liu also has two off-market listings for luxury homes on Paritai Drive in Orakei and Ronaki Road in Mission Bay due to the owners requesting privacy.
And it’s not just the fancy homes buyers are paying for because the land on some of these sought-after streets are, in some cases, worth more than the houses.
A 1169sqm section on Karori Cr with wrap-around views fetched $9.82m last year, while a property with watertight issues on Okahu Street recently sold under its RV of $7m.
A Hollywood-style mansion on Karori Crescent on Orakei has a price indication of about $15m. Photo / Supplied
The leaky home on Okahu St in Orakei will be bowled and replaced with a new property. Photo / Supplied
The exact price of the Ohaku Street property cannot be disclosed until settlement, but Liu says it was a good price for what was land value only as the new owner planned to bowl the existing house and replace it with a luxury new-build.
Properties without the massive views appear to come with slightly smaller price tags and a large five-bedroom, three-bathroom family home on Tuhaere Street in Orakei recently sold for $5.08m, above its RV of $4.55m
Ray White salesperson Ross Hawkins, who sold the Tuhaere Street property, says there is currently a building boom happening on Orakei’s premium streets.
He has wealthy developer clients who have owned land there for a while and are now building on them.
Some of these high-end homes can take anywhere between two and five years to complete and by then the market is likely to have picked up again, he says.
“Generally wealthy buyers are busy with their business and with the process being a lot of hard work for those who don’t work in that space they don’t mind paying a premium for instant gratification rather than spending the three-to-five-year process that goes into doing it themselves.”
A family home on Tuhaere Street in Orakei recently sold for $5.08m. Photo / Supplied
A property at 31 Paritai Drive that houses New Zealand's best private art gallery is for sale. Photo / Supplied
While Paritai Drive has traditionally led the charge on property values in Auckland, Hawkins would not be surprised if Karori Crescent overtakes it due to some of New Zealand’s most expensive homes currently being built on the street.
However, finding a property on one of these premium streets is not easy as they are tightly held with owners often snapping up their neighbour’s properties to cement their value, give them control of what happens around them and often protect their view.
“It is very common for these owners to be multi-generational with properties having been in families for up to 70-odd years in some cases.”
But not all properties in Orakei require have eye-watering prices tags and away from the front row, smaller sites and infill housing developments such as Okahu Villas at 52/54 Tautari Street can be found.
There are 11 townhouses in the Okahu Villas development being sold off the plan with prices starting from $1.925m.
Hawkins says it is expected that by the time they are completed, there will be a shortage of new affordable homes in Orakei and little for people to choose from.
Wall Real Estate owner Graham Wall, who is selling one of the few properties currently for sale on Paritai Drive, says it is still viewed as one of the city’s best streets because of its fantastic views and tranquillity.
The property at 31 Paritai Drive, which has an RV of $12.75m, is famous for having the best private art gallery in the country in it.
The 918sqm David Mitchell-designed architectural icon is on a 1315sqm section on the northern side of Paritai Drive and, according to a Wall, has a racking and storage system better than the Auckland Art Gallery.
However, due to it being a unique property, Wall says finding a specific buyer is taking time because not everyone wants a large art gallery as part of their home.
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