A “hidden” mansion in Auckland’s Remuera has hit the market for sale, with agents indicating to OneRoof it will very likely smash the city’s price record for 2023.
Tucked away down a long driveway, the impressive five-bedroom home at 228 Remuera Road commands panoramic views of the harbour, boasts a tennis court and outdoor pool and sits on a 4000sqm-plus section – one of the biggest in the suburb.
The property has a 2021 CV of $25m, but listing agents Graham and Ollie Wall, of Wall Real Estate, think buyers will go a lot higher.
“We’re telling clients there are only two places on Remuera Road that are comparable,” Ollie told OneRoof, referring to a nearby mansion which sold for $29m in 2021, and an Arts and Crafts home further west which sold for $26m in 2017.
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Both properties sit on 4000sqm-plus sections, and both sales were handled by the Walls, who are on a hot streak this year, selling a glass and steel mansion on Burwood Crescent for just over $20m in May and a waterfront estate in Herne Bay for just over $24m in October – the city’s biggest sale this year.
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Wall told OneRoof his family had strong personal connection to 228 Remuera Road. “Our old house used to look down on these gardens. We used to walk along to Kings’ school, and I’ve played many a game on that tennis court,” he said.
“It’s remarkable to have this much land in Remuera.”
The 443sqm house was designed by Parnell architect John Porter in 1980 in an unusual style for Remuera; neither a traditional Victorian or Arts and Crafts mansion, nor a modern concrete architectural block. The two-storey house is a mix of traditional craftsman style – red brick, slate roof, steel and bronze windows and doors, and modern – curved walls, turreted slate roof, sky lights and intriguing changes of level.
“It makes me think of those big old places in upstate New York,” Wall said.
The vendors bought the place in 2007 for $7.8m, a big sum at the time, and have over the years completely refurbished the gardens.
The interior of the five-bedroom house has been completely made over, with a modern whites and neutrals paint scheme, sleek stone fireplaces and stone and marble bathrooms (there are four in the main house, one in the guest suite above the garage and a sixth in the self-contained cottage).
The house was designed by Parnell architect John Porter in 1980. Photo / Supplied
The gardens and grounds at 228 Remuera Road have been extensively landscaped. Photo / Supplied
Like seemingly every room in the house, the sleek kitchen with a stone-topped island opens to the lawns and the view. On the main floor is a principal bedroom suite that makes the most of the architect’s curved walls – and the views – while upstairs there are further bedrooms and an office.
As well as the formal living room, there is a mezzanine library where the architect has inserted clerestory windows in the turret roof – the perfect height to take in the views from an armchair. The flow of the house, with stylish steel French doors and windows to patios and lawns has well stood the test of time.
“Everything you touch is just such good quality – right down to the bronze door handles. Everything is so beautifully thought out and elegant, it’s just a pleasure to be in,” Wall said.
The sloping property, with wide views across the valley to the Waitemata Harbour and Rangitoto, has been terraced into multiple garden rooms, where winding stone staircases lead to flat lawns around the house (gates lead to further gardens hidden behind the hedges) with a series of stone stairs dropping through hydrangea hedges and native plants to lower lawns and the pool and tennis court.
The neighbouring Remuera Road mansion that sold in 2017 for $26m. Photo / Supplied
The pool was completely rebuilt, Wall said, and shares a cute cabana with the tennis court. Below this is the self-contained one-bedroom house with its own entrance off Westbury Crescent.
Wall said that the huge property is one of the only ones on this stretch of Remuera Road that has zoning for suburban density, so an owner could possibly subdivide the lower half of the section to make its own residence or build townhouses on the tennis court.
“The photographs just don’t do the place justice. Our vendors told us they were country people, and this property makes them feel like they’re still on the farm ... apart from those views, of course."
- 228 Remuera Road, Remuera, Auckland, for sale by way of price by application
