A multi-award-winning home built on a $380,000 lifestyle section has ended up selling for around $3 million.
The luxury three-bedroom home on Eskridge Drive, in Eskdale, just north of Napier, was snapped up by a retired couple already living in Hawke’s Bay.
Oliver Road listing agent Nic Goodman said the buyers had been impressed by the property’s sea views. “Anything with a sea view is still demanding a premium,” she said, adding that the 2952sqm section was viewed as manageable for a lifestyle property.
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Goodman said the sale price – a record for the Eskdale area but still under wraps – showed there was strong demand for quality homes in the $2m-$3m bracket, with interest coming from retirees and buyers whose homes were destroyed by Cyclone Gabrielle last year.
The Eskridge Drive house, known as The Podium, was built by the vendors soon after buying the lifestyle plot in 2009 for $380,000. The house was named Hawke’s Bay House of the Year in 2012 and has won other awards, including those for energy efficiency and kitchen design.
The previous sale price record for Eskdale and Bay View was held by a four-bedroom home on the same street, but on a larger section, which sold for $2.8m in April 2022.
Eskdale is about 15 minutes north of Napier City. Parts of the district were not as severely affected by the cyclone as neighbouring areas and it was seen as a relatively safe area due to its elevation.
Bayleys agent Kristen Hines said houses in the area were tightly held and often only came up when the owners got older and were ready to downsize to a smaller section or a lock-and-leave home.
“If you own a property in here you’ve got to have something pretty special to go to consider selling here and I think that’s why they don’t come up that often.”
The home on Eskridge Drive, in Eskdale, was built using quality materials in 2010 and had won multiple awards. Photo / Supplied
Buyers were captivated by the panoramic views of the ocean and across to Cape Kidnappers. Photo / Supplied
Prices in the area start from about $1m for a 5000sqm section and about $2m for a house on a lifestyle section up to the current record hovering around $3m.
“This location has been pretty resilient through what has been a pretty volatile period as far as how housing prices have been high, then dipped and come back up.
“I’m particularly biased, I think this is the best-kept secret in Napier because of where it’s located. It’s 10 minutes to the airport, we literally drop down the hill and we are on the highway to Taupo. The city is literally 15 minutes down the road, but you feel like you are living in the most precious environment.”
Hines agreed that properties with views were often the most desirable and said that was a key selling point of an older 1990s four-bedroom, two-bathroom home she’s selling at 11 Kaimata Road, in Bay View.
“This one is looking at the ocean. The cruise liners are basically going past your window – it looks like you could reach out and touch them.”
Unlike some of the neighbouring areas such as Eskridge and Esk Hills, the Kaimata Road property also had a large 1.83-hectare section which meant there was room for a few ponies and sheep.
Along with people retiring from farms, she had also noticed a rise in multi-generational families looking at some of the larger properties and people coming from out of town to Eskdale and Bay View as a good stepping stone.
“It’s a rural setting in a near urban environment and that’s probably what the attraction piece is for people to come into the area.”
Last year, a six-bedroom property on a 4000sqm-plus section on Duart Road, in Havelock North, which was inviting interest north of its RV of $10.2m, sold although the price has not been disclosed yet. However, it is expected to be a record breaker for the region.
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