A much-loved and well-known bach on Lake Rotoiti was snapped up at auction today for $4 million – well above its RV of $1.42m.
Emotions were high as the White House homestead on Whangamoa Drive, at TeTi Bay, was sold by 88-year-old Aucklander Richard Leary, who was only a baby when his father bought the 7.2-hectare block in 1936.
The Bayleys auction on Tuesday afternoon opened at $3m with a vendor bid and was followed by a second bid of $3.05m.
The auction paused twice – once at $3.05m and again at $3.2m – as just two people actively bid on it. The auction eventually resumed 25 minutes later with a higher bid of $4m made by someone on the phone and was announced on the market and sold at that price.
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There had been seven people interested in bidding on the property, but only two of those parties put their hands up.
Bayleys salesperson Beth Millard said it was a stressful day for everyone involved and she even shed a few tears when she got back to the office over the enormity of the family's decision despite it being the right one for them.
"Mr Leary, he had quoted to you it was the hardest thing he had ever had to do, and yesterday demonstrated that it most definitely was, but he had also - despite the rumour about their expectations - he had also made the decision to sell it and he did," she said.
"It was hugely emotional and they are pleased with the result because it means they just move onto the next phase of their lives."
Leary had been unable to attend the auction but had been on the phone with their daughter who attended the auction. An agent from Bayleys Long Bay agent went and sat with Richard and his wife Susan who were in Auckland to provide support during the auction process.
Millard said it had been a difficult property gauge price feedback on because while the position was amazing, the house itself was in very original condition.
"So people were also factoring in what are we going to do with it and what's that going to cost."
The new owners were a Bay of Plenty family with links to the area and, like everyone else interested in it, had bought it as their holiday home.
"My take is that whoever buys it is buying it as a generational property.
"I don't think that I'm going to live long enough to ever be able to sell that property again."
The latest sale fell well shy of the current Lake Rotoiti record held by a landmark resort-style property on Okere Road with two homes on it that sold for $7m in March last year. It’s also the second-highest sale in TeTi Bay, lagging behind the only other lawn-to-lake property originally owned by Leary’s brother which nabbed $4.8m in 2022.
Leary told OneRoof last month the decision to list the property had been heart-breaking.
“It’s probably the most unpleasant thing I’ve had to do in my life. You really have to separate emotion from practicality,” he said.
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“We have had some pretty big gatherings over New Year. There’s been plenty of room for people to camp and bring their own tents and caravans and things.”
He had hoped the new owners would want to enjoy the property as it is and create their own family holidays at the secluded spot.
“To further subdivide it will take away its particular charm.”
The property was originally owned Judge Alexander Herdman, who purchased it in the 1920s from the Ngati Pikaio tribe when they needed money to pay off creditors to bury a chief. The judge built a four-bedroom homestead on the site but his wife was not a fan of the remote location, so he sold it to Leary’s father.
During the visit, Leary’s father asked whether it was possible to catch fish from there and was taken down to the jetty. He hooked a trout on his second cast which sealed the deal, Leary said, and he bought the property on the spot as the family holiday home.
The original homestead was built in the 1920s by a judge. Photo / Supplied
The kitchen is also in its original state. Photo / Supplied
The Leary family moved from their Remuera home to the homestead during the war because their father, who was a colonel, thought it was a safer place to be. It was at this time while his father was away running a regiment that Moose Lodge owner Sir Noel Cole, who was known for his big acts of kindness, added two more bedrooms transforming it to a four-bedroom cottage.
A road to the bay was constructed after the war and Leary’s father subdivided the large property in 1946.
He had the foresight to keep enough sections so that each of his four children would eventually have one. Leary, being the oldest, eventually inherited the homestead and his two brothers and sister each acquired their own sections.
After today’s auction, Leary’s sister remains the only family member with land in TeTi Bay.
The property comes with a half share of a jetty. Photo / Supplied
The Leary family hosted large gatherings and even a wedding at the property. Photo / Supplied
Bayleys listing agent Beth Millard said the property was one of the largest – if not the largest – freehold lawn-to-lake properties on Lake Rotoiti.
“The size of the land is unique to Lake Rotoiti, that’s for sure. But it’s probably more TeTi Bay and the fact that everyone has this idealistic vision when they buy lake property that they want to be able to sit on the deck and watch their kids in the water and this property achieves this,” she said.
“People know the bay, people know that family settled the bay and people know the White House.
“Even though you feel like time has stood still when you are at this property, you are still only five minutes to the store and 20 minutes to town.”
People could “love it like it is” in its original condition or completely remodel it, she said.
The last time a property sold in TeTi Bay was in December 2022 when a 1970s architect-designed four-bedroom home on a 1540sqm section sold for $4.8m, which was more than three times its RV. In 2021, another property on the same bay sold for $3.33m. Both properties had originally been owned by the Leary family, but neither had the coveted lawn-to-lake access.
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