The riverside home that reality TV show Rich Listers star Diego Traglia called the “best house of my career” has sold for $2.8 million, OneRoof can reveal.
The deal for the four-bedroom nearly-new house on William Blake Drive, Riverhead, was inked in July, the Harcourts agent says, but is yet to settle.
Traglia, who is back filming season two of the real estate show, says he battled a fair amount of skepticism from locals about the price he and his vendors were looking for in the upscale waterside neighbourhood of Deacons Point.
“It was an extremely popular campaign, but locals were saying ‘there’s no way’ we’d get the mid to high-$2m price range.
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“I’d sold the show home three doors down for $3m two years ago, and people were pointing to a 20% drop in prices, so expected it to go for $2.5m.
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“But my buyers from out of town, they saw it on day one and had spent a lot of time researching the market, so they saw value at $2.8m.
“It was bought by family buyers who wanted the lifestyle and community. It’s a beautiful property, all the other properties around are multi-million-dollar places,” Traglia says.
Harcourts agent Diego Traglia says the Hamptons-style house on William Blake Way, Riverhead, is the best he's ever had to sell but has another top property in the pipeline. Photo / Fiona Goodall
The house has views across the water to Huapai Golf Course, and access to the creek at the bottom of the garden. Photo / Supplied
The agent had earlier told OneRoof that while the neighbourhood was a tourist magnet for day trippers heading to Hallertau Breweries, the famous Riverhead Tavern and summer strawberry fields, people stayed for the good local school, Huapai Golf Course (which the home looked over the river to) and proximity to both Westgate and Albany shopping centres.
Traglia says he had another would-be buyer who was game to be filmed looking at the house for an episode of Rich Listers, so was thrilled to be able to show off the house on national television. He says viewers will also get a peek at another high-end home in Riverhead he is listing which is yet to hit the market.
The agent, who picked up the top agent crown for Harcourts northern area this week, says that filming is still going on for Rich Listers. While he swears he is now mates with last season’s sparring partner, Ray White’s East Auckland agent David McCartney, he says the rivalry has switched to fellow top Harcourts agent Aman Gulia, who joined the show this season.
Traglia has also expanded his coverage of the city, adding central Auckland to his patch. This week he confirmed his co-ownership of the Harcourts Mount Eden branch with Todd Sherley and Todd Murray. He notes that the market is already picking up in central Auckland and in the south, but will take a while to reach the North Shore and then the west.
The principal bedroom suite includes a soaking tub in the bathroom. Photo / Supplied
The Hamptons-style extends to the kitchen and adjoining scullery. Photo / Supplied
“I’ll be training agents and opening up central Auckland. That will open a number of doors,” Traglia says.
The owners of the 294sqm house on William Blake Way, Peter and Wendy Maddren, had earlier told OneRoof they bought the 800sqm section in 2020 when they were downsizing from a one-hectare property in nearby Kumeu.
“Riverhead has really changed. When we first moved out here 18 years ago, people said ‘why do you want to live out there?’. Now they say ‘Riverhead, it's got a nice feel’,” Maddren says.
The houses on the street were all built by upscale builders Salah Homes, who, with architect Mike Cooper, created the timeless coastal Hamptons-vibe house. It included crafted wood trims and corbels, a panelled kitchen and scullery, fireplaces indoor and out, and a pizza oven, as well as ducted central heating, built-in sound system and water tanks.
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