An Auckland villa bought 48 years ago for $21,000 sold last week for $1.85 million, and the new owners have grand plans for the vintage home.
More than 40 groups had inspected the three-bedroom house on Selbourne Street, in Grey Lynn, but Gretchen Houston and her husband Blair were determined that they would be the ones to take possession so they made an offer of $1.8m.
Although below the property's CV of $2.58m, it was enough to bring the auction forward.
On the day, the Houstons were up against another bidder but after a short tussle - and an extra $50,000 - they emerged triumphant.
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Gretchen told OneRoof that the couple had been looking for a new home for several months, after selling their previous home in July.
She said they were now onto their sixth project, but this time, their home will be where they put down their roots. Their girls, aged five and ten, go to Grey Lynn primary so Selbourne Street is perfectly located.
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“It was my dream to have something back here we could make comfortable, renovating and extending out the back in the next year,” Gretchen said, adding that few houses had come up in the suburb during their months of looking with the help of friend Jerry Chen, an agent with Ray White.
“We were drawn to the villa's bohemian style. You know someone’s not going to make it modern. We want to respect what a loved and precious home it’s been.”
After the auction, the family and Chen went to the house to meet the vendors, Marilyn and Martin Sutcliffe.
The house has impressive artwork on the walls, including a nautical-themed painting by Dick Frizzell. Photo / Supplied
The house retains its classic charm. Photo / Supplied
“They [Marilyn and Martin] took the girls by the hand and showed them all around the house. Jerry had tears rolling down his face. He’s so happy,” Gretchen said.
Houston, an interior designer and food stylist (her work appears in design magazines and websites and she’s a frequent guest on Viva reviewer Jesse Mulligan’s radio show), said that she and her husband were very much a hands-on DIY couple, and were used to living with no Gib on the walls.
However, with Selbourne Street, they plan to refresh the main part of the house before they move in. Their daughters are already picking out paint swatches and wallpapers ready for their mid-January settlement.
The vendors had earlier told OneRoof that when they bought the house in their late 20s they got their $3000 deposit by selling beads at the popular city Cook Street Market. The couple’s circle of arty friends from their days at the Elam School of Fine Arts and Martin’s work in community development, theatre, and the arts was evident in the pieces displayed in their house, including a Dick Frizzell.
The kitchen has hosted a who's who of New Zealand's art world. Photo / Supplied
The couple told OneRoof that Grey Lynn had changed a lot since they moved into the villa. “People didn’t particularly want to live here then,” Martin said. “It was regarded as a bit of a dangerous area. But we wanted to be close to the city.”
However, the couple said there was still a certain friendliness in the street, "but it’s a very different feel to what it was. People these days have locked gates and keypads and two SUVs. They just come out and jump in their car and drive off.”
The property was marketed by Ray White listing agent Cathy Roselli. She told OneRoof that the villa was all charm. “So many of the homes we market are so orchestrated. This home has a groovy, cool authenticity about it. It’s uncurated.”
She said that over the course of the marketing campaign, the house had been viewed by architects and homeowners who were drawn to the garden setting and the potential it offered.
“They said you could be anywhere in New Zealand in the beautiful gardens. It’s a real grass-roots Kiwiana house. People were in awe, they had a real feel for it.”
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