One of Wellington’s coolest homes when it was built is set for the wrecking ball. The abandoned home at 4 Puketiro Avenue, in Northland, has million-dollar views, but it’s on the market for sale at much less than that.
The listing calls on buyers to detonate or develop the crumbling four-bedroom concrete home, with Tommy’s agent Ramon Kane telling OneRoof that a brand new home on the 445sqm site could fetch over $2.5 million.
The current property has a 2021 RV of $1.06m (only $10,000 of it is the improvement value) but is seeking enquiries over $795,000.
Kane said the house and its former resident had been the talk of the neighbourhood “for years”.
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The 240sqm home “would have been something really special” when it was built, he said, noting that on the top level “it has quite an unusual sort of wraparound courtyard”.
However, the property had fallen into disrepair. “It appeared that no work had been done on the home since it was built,” Kane said.
Wellington City Council issued a “dangerous and unsanitary building” notice in February 2021, forcing the then occupant to vacate the property.
At the time neighbours had reported seeing piles of belongings stacked high through the broken windows.
“You could just imagine how cold it would have been in the winter for him. It’s pretty challenging circumstances for anyone to be living in a home in that state for so long,” Kane said.
The run-down property has been condemned by the council but the site could be turned into something special, says the listing agent. Photo / Supplied
The views from the house are stunning. Photo / Supplied
Kane said the abandoned home was so run-down that the only way to view it was with a drone. Most likely it will be demolished but the agent noted that it was possibly still salvageable as a do-up.
The current owner, a developer, who picked it up in 2021 for $804,500, had completed a geotech report and feasibility study for apartments to be built on site. Kane said the developer specialised in challenging projects, doing the feasibility work, then selling them on. “They take it from one level to the next stage where [another developer] would see a feasible project.”
He added: “It’s quite exciting for the prospect of being able to put something brand new up there.”
One difficulty will be that property prices in Wellington have fallen since 2021 when the developer bought. “The Wellington market got hit more than most of the country. “We're definitely seeing stabilisation going on, and we’re actually starting to see growth occurring, which is great.”
Kane still expected that the developer could turn a profit on the investment. “It’s a very sought-after area. You’ve got embassies up here, and you’re looking over the city, over the water, and down onto the Botanical Gardens. There was a section we sold not too far away from here for $1.4m. It’s rare that [land] comes up here,” he said.
“It would be amazing to see a new home built [on the site]. You’d be looking at $2.5m-plus for a brand new home. Apartments would be a nice product as well.”
- 4 Puketiro Avenue, Northland, Wellington, is for sale by way of tender, closing February 20
