A luxury penthouse that was among half the apartments to sell before the bank forced a mortgagee sale this year on the remaining units in a multi-million-dollar complex in Browns Bay has hit the market.
The three-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment with two parking spaces in the once troubled The Victor building on Bute Road, in Browns Bay, was purchased in December 2021, shortly after all 64 of the residences were completed.
Over the last two years, the developer managed to sell 31 of the apartments to individual owners before China Construction Bank (NZ) stepped in last month and forced a sale on the remaining 33 apartments that were spread out across the complex. Commercial real estate agency JLL was appointed by the bank to handle the mortgagee listing.
JLL agent John Davies, one of several agents appointed to handle the listing, told OneRoof last week the apartments were under contract and that the bank was dealing with the preferred party.
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OneRoof understands the bulk sale of the 33 apartments is due to go unconditional any day and will then be relisted individually for sale by the new owner. Barfoot & Thompson was previously the lead agency appointed to sell the apartments on behalf of the developer.
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Davies told OneRoof that while his instruction was to sell all 33 apartments as one parcel, he had fielded a lot of enquiries from people wanting to buy them individually.
Barfoot & Thompson listing agent Robert Thompson is selling one of the penthouses at 501/4 Bute Road that was bought by his vendor from the developer for $3.92 million in December 2021. The current RV is $3.95m.
Thompson said the penthouse was one of the best two apartments in the entire building and had “zero” to do with the mortgagee sale because it was one of the 31 apartments that was privately owned.
The three-bedroom, two-bathroom penthouse is one of the two best in The Victor and both are privately owned. Photo / Supplier
The owner had bought the state-of-the-art apartment with about 50sqm wraparound north-west balconies to live in but had since moved out due to a change in circumstances.
The penthouse is priced by negotiation with Thompson encouraging interest from buyers with $3m-plus to spend.
He said it was an amazing apartment that would suit empty-nesters or downsizers looking for a perfect lock-up-and-leave in the heart of Browns Bay.
“It’s not just ordinary, it’s a very, very boutique apartment building. Beautifully designed, ground-to-roof atrium – it’s really, really nice,” he said.
“When you walk in the building it’s got an absolutely brand-new feeling.”
The Victor in Browns Bay was completed two years ago. Photo / Supplied
While there were two penthouses involved in the mortgagee sale, Thompson said the one he was selling was superior to them.
“The only buyers we won’t immediately appeal to are the ones who specifically want to sit staring at the ocean all day.” However, he added there were sea views from the balcony.
The Victor was designed by GMC Architects and the interiors were by Nicola Manning Design. Prices of apartments in The Victor range from below $1m to the high $3ms.
The Herald reported last month that many units in the block were owned by East Tamaki No 70, whose directors include Yang Liu, also a shareholder.
Thompson believed the developer had been unlucky with his timing as he was trying to sell 64 high-end apartments in the worst two calendar years in decades.
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