Motuketekete, the nearly 24-hectare island in the Hauraki Gulf, which has been on the market since the beginning of March, has now got a price tag of $12 million.
The property is listed with former deputy prime minister, now Bayleys national director for customer engagement, Paula Bennett, and agents Kellie Bissett and John Greenwood.
Bennett, who has visited the island, earlier told OneRoof that properties like this never come up for sale and are “priceless”.
“It feels remote and yet you don’t feel you are miles away from everything. At night you can see the lights sparkling on the mainland and it doesn’t look that far away and yet you have this utmost privacy in this absolute beauty,” she said.
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The island, just 15 minutes from Auckland by helicopter, has been in the same family since 1907. It has a classic Kiwi two-bedroom bach with its own generator and water supply, three beaches and features rolling countryside of mostly pines, with some pockets of native bush.
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Kawau Island is 4km to the north east, Martins Bay 15 minutes away by boat and there are spectacular views all the way around the Gulf from Rangitoto to Whangaparaoa, Tawharanui Peninsula and Great Barrier Island.
“What Motuketekete has to offer is difficult to find anywhere, both here and overseas. It offers a well-established, forested landscape and a deep sense of history accompanies the island which has been over 100 years in ownership by the one family,” Bennett said earlier.
The rustic two-bedroom bach on the island would make a good base for a family holiday, a romantic getaway or even a rental. Photo / Supplied
Former Deputy PM Paula Bennett on the island. She is one of Bayleys' three listing agents marketing the property. Photo / Supplied
Greenwood told OneRoof that 90% of the enquiry for the island had come from New Zealanders, with the balance from Kiwis based overseas.
“They know the Gulf, they know Kawau. They’re thinking of building something for the long-term for their family,” he said, adding that a fast ‘gin palace’ would get owners to the island from Auckland city in 40 minutes.
“Most are looking at building a humble dwelling, not a huge palace. They’re drawn to the beauty of the isolation to build a kiwi bach.
“They’re thinking of the next 100 years as a family estate, like our original owners.”
Greenwood said the $12m price tag for a whole island compared well to recent coastal estates of a similar size he’s been marketing on the mainland, where owners are seeking $15m or even $20m.
Bennett earlier suggested the island would suit a syndicate of three families who could all have their own holiday homes as there was at least a hectare of flat land on Home Bay alone.
The nearly-24ha island has three beaches. Photo / Supplied
“I think it does need to be someone who is environmentally conscious. I don’t think it’s necessarily for the big flashy. This is someone that really values their privacy and as I say really cares about the environment because that’s what the island screams,” she said.
A pest eradication programme has seen the return of native birds, but new buyers could do more to bring the island back to its native state as the private owners of Rotoroa Island, the former Salvation Army rehabilitation facility for alcoholics, have done.
If $12m is a stretch, Greenwood is also marketing a tiny Far North island, Motuekaiti Island, a 3.34-hectare spot less than 10 minutes from Paihia by helicopter.
Interest in the island has come almost entirely from New Zealanders keen to create a family estate for their next generations. Photo / Supplied
Billed as suitable for a Robinson Crusoe or Tom Hanks, Motuekaiti Island is up for sale for the first time in more than 30 years. It failed to sell by tender at the end of April, but Greenwood says unlike other slices of paradise in New Zealand, this one is “affordable”.
He said price expectations for the island were around $3.5m.
Although there are about 144 islands in the Bay of Islands, plus another 27 in the Cavalli Islands just to the north, they rarely come to the market – and many of them are just rocks, Greenwood said.
Several private islands have sold in the last year showing there are still buyers wanting a unique spot.
Roberton Island, also known as Motuarohia Island, in the Bay of Islands sold at the end of last year for $7.5m.
The 6464sqm waterfront estate came with a four-bedroom, three-bathroom property along with a separate guesthouse for visitors, a private jetty and helicopter access.
In April last year, Motukawaiti Island, also known as Step Island, in Northland sold to a New Zealand-based family for $10.6m.
The eventual sales price for the resort, which had fallen into ruin, was significantly lower than the $30m which then became the $22m asking price as owner Jun Zhang made several attempts to sell it over a number of years.
Greenwood is also entertaining international enquiry for another luxury estate closer to Auckland. The 10-hectare Kauri Mountain Point on Taiharuru, Whangarei Heads, houses two luxury lodges, The Glasshouse and Te Whara, and has its own private coves and pools with views to Tutukaka, Poor Knights and Hen and Chicken Islands.
It is being sold by Kiwi financier John Fulton, who has barely used the estate since Covid.
“It’s had the most interest of any luxury estate, a high level of enquiry and I hope to sell it this year,” Greenwood said.
- Click here to see more of Motuketekete Island in Auckland’s Hauraki Gulf
