A trophy home designed by one of Auckland's leading architects doubled in price in the space of a decade after selling for $8.25 million last month.
Records show the five-bedroom home on Coates Avenue, Orakei, had previously changed hands at the end of 2011 for $4.4m.
The property, which comes with a swimming pool, sauna, wine cellar and theatre/games room, had been marketed by Bayleys agents Gary, Vicki and Sam Wallace.
Gary Wallace told OneRoof the vendors first listed the Andrew Patterson house in June last year but took it off the market in February after failing to get interest at the level they wanted.
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He said the decision to relist at the end of August yielded better results: a deal was signed within two weeks of the new listing going live.
“The first time we had offers on it, but we never quite got what was going to work for the vendor. So we decided to give it a rest and then brought it back and got a whole new group of buyers,” Wallace said, adding that the buyers had missed out on another big property so moved quickly when they spotted the Coates Avenue home.
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“The way the economy has been in the last six months has made vendors more aware of current property values. When they get an offer that is substantial, they need to act quickly. Buyers will quite quickly move on,” he said, adding that the sale price was about the same as last year’s offers.
Orakei has seen some big sales this year, including the year's highest, but the upper end of the market has been sluggish, but not for want of opportunity.
In the last 12 months, 20-odd homes with search prices of $5m-plus were listed for sale on OneRoof. Some like Coates Avenue have found buyers, but more than a few have been pulled from sale, with their owners likely to try again in 2025, when the market picks up.
A classic Italianate-style mansion on Paritai Drive sold for $21.84m earlier this year. Photo / Supplied
Another house on Paritai Drive sold for nearly $10m, and will be bowled for a new mansion. Photo / Supplied
One of the success stories of 2024 is the $21.84m sale of a classic Italianate-style house on Paritai Drive. New Zealand Sotheby’s International Realty agent Paul Sissons, who sealed the deal in May, told OneRoof luxury home had still to “hit the mark” with buyers, who were unlikely to move unless every box was ticked.
His colleague Karen Moore, who recently listed the Paritai Drive art gallery house of collector and philanthropist Dame Jenny Gibbs, added that there were buyers with $20m to $30m to spend, but didn't want to compromise.
"“Orakei buyers are different from Remuera buyers. Some Orakei people have been there forever," she said. "They become completely infatuated by the views and it’s just a quick drive down the heli-pad and you’re off to Tara Iti for golf."
Moore, who is currently marketing four exclusive apartments in the suburb, on Karori Crescent, said homeowners in Orakei's prime street were spending tens of millions of dollars on building work. “They are unbelievably spectacular jobs.”
Barfoot & Thompson agent Lawrence Yuan, who recently sold a bowler on Paritai Drive for nearly $10m in May, said he was about to close a deal of around $4m for a property on the street and had an off-market listing looking for around $10m.
He said there was growing demand from downsizers for new lock-up-and-leave homes in the suburb. He said the sweet spot for those buyers was $3m-$5m, but there’s little stock.
Because of that, he anticipated that a site he is bringing to market on Kepa Road will be snapped up by developers looking to build sea view apartments for those customers. “Buyers are there,” he said.
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