Dunedin is under-rated for top-notch homes, said Bayleys agent Alice Munro who has two such properties for sale in the city.
One is a Virginia Fay-designed home with four bedrooms, two bathrooms, and elevated rural views. Munro said 28 Cardigan Street was built with “love and care” in 2012 by a couple who also created the exclusive Chingford View subdivision it sits in.
The house features a chef’s kitchen with butler’s pantry and outdoor entertaining space with a bespoke curved glass balustrade, and many other features.
Chingford View is in the North East Valley but links to Opoho, which is near the Botanic Gardens, and Munro said the subdivision of only 20 or 30 homes was elevated, sunny and private. “There’s a nice array of modern homes in there and it’s super close to town,” she said.
Start your property search
“It’s Dunedin’s best-kept secret. It’s a gorgeous subdivision with beautiful homes super close to town. Not many people would know it’s there.”
Discover more:
- Revealed: The hidden costs of buying a luxury home in NZ
- Influencer Gina Urlich selling her forever home to fund cancer treatment
- Bumper Grand Designs sell-off: TV show homes worth $10m up for grabs
Turnover of homes in the subdivision was low, Munro said. “Once someone’s there they seem to be there for quite a long tenure because it is such a nice spot.”
Interest in the home has been strong. Munro refrained from talking price – the house is for sale by negotiation – but the RV is $1.6 million.
The house is made of concrete block and brick with rendered plaster, and is not “your typical Dunedin home”, she said. “It has attracted people looking at it because it’s very elegant and a lot of people are obviously drawn to bespoke architecture designs.
“It feels like a nice family home but it’s still elegant and refined and quite timeless for a 2012 build.
“The focal point is the lovely curve which runs through the north side, the lovely skylights and sun streaming in.”
Munro has another luxury home for sale in the city, in the popular seaside suburb of St Clair.
The house on Cardigan Street has a 2022 RV of $1.6m and was designed by architect Virginia Fay. Photo / Supplied
She said 87C Ravenswood Road was another bespoke home and boasted panoramic views of the harbour, beach and ocean.
This house, also for sale by negotiation, is expected to sell for more than $2m. “It’s amazing. It’s beautiful. Very bespoke. It’s awesome. It really is like this big, beautiful executive sort of penthouse/townhouse style property.”
The house is also brand new. Munro said the owners lived nearby in their own beautiful home and wanted to create another lovely product.
“You feel like you’re sort of floating above the trees and you’ve just got this amazing panoramic vista. You don’t need a TV, honestly. The photos don’t do it justice, it’s just amazing.”
It’s also an easy property to take care of.
“There’s no yard as such. It reads like it’s a big section, it’s over 700 square metres but it’s just a bank that it sort of protrudes over. It’s really like a lux lock and leave.”
St Clair is an affluent suburb and a popular location, she said.
“Everyone knows Saint Clair. When there’s out-of-town buyers looking, a lot of buyers identify with Saint Clair, and Maori Hill and Roslyn are good suburbs to be in.”
Also aiming to get top dollar in Dunedin is 87C Ravenswood Road, in St Clair. Photo / Supplied
The three-bedroom new-build boasts stunning water and city views. Photo / Supplied
While people underestimate Dunedin and the number of beautiful homes it has, Munro said this house was also attracting plenty of out-of-town enquiries.
“People do underestimate Dunedin but we do have a lot of lovely homes. I mean, if that was in Auckland it would probably be about $4m or $5m, I would say.”
St Clair was the location of a big sale earlier in the year when an award-winning Cliffs Road property sold for $3.575m, more than $1m above it’s RV.
The price was Dunedin’s highest this year and the third-highest for the city, and the house, designed by Mason & Wales architecture firm, was described by NZIA judges as Dunedin’s answer to Malibu.
The brief was for a home that would “feel as if you are standing on the bridge of a ship”.
According to OneRoof records, just two Dunedin properties have sold for more: a lifestyle property on Wingatui Road, in Mosgiel, which fetched $4.5m in 2022; and a modest home on a block of development land on Ruskin Terrace, in Caversham, which was bought by Kāinga Ora in 2022 for $5.3m.
LJ Hooker agent Jason Hynes told OneRoof last month Cliffs Road was one of the most exclusive addresses in Dunedin, and Valocity research analyst Wayne Shum said the city had performed well attracting well-off buyers from other parts of the country.
- Click here to find more properties for sale in Dunedin
