A single buyer has bought the entire top floor of a luxury Hamilton apartment block for a record amount, OneRoof can reveal.
The developer of One Cook Street, in Hamilton East, had planned to split the floor into three apartments but the buyer did a "bespoke" deal to create a super-sized penthouse.
They declined to reveal how much the buyer had paid, but did indicate the price would be a record for the city’s apartment market and was above the asking prices of other units in the development.
Two other apartments in the development, which overlooks the river and is due for completion in 2026, have also been sold off-the-plan. They had asking prices of $2.6 million and $2.7m – above the previous apartment record holder, a penthouse in the nearby Hills Apartments, which sold for $2.45m in 2020.
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Agents told OneRoof that Hamilton’s apartment market has changed dramatically in the past four years and the emergence of high-end developments pointed to growing demand for apartment-living among wealthy downsizers in the city.
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Lodge agent James Walsh, who is selling 402/1 and 503/1 at One Cook Street for $2.515m and $2.665m respectively, said the premium on the apartment was down to several factors.
“They are looking right down the river over Bridge Street so it’s a pretty iconic Hamilton view. I suppose one of the other things is there is a small amount of apartments so there will probably be high demand for them because there’s not a huge amount of good apartment living in Hamilton and there’s a demand for that type of thing.”
Walsh has already sold two apartments in the development, one to a downsizer and the other to an out-of-town buyer who was looking for a lifestyle change.
“They want the lock-up-and-leave and the amenities close to them, they want the views but they don’t want all the stuff that goes on with the house sometimes,” he said.
High quality fittings and fixtures are being used in the building of One Cook Street to match the prime riverside location. Photo / Supplied
The seven apartments cover the top three floors of the building, which will be completed in early 2026. Photo / Supplied
Mitch Mace, director of Black Orange, which is behind One Cook Street, said the riverside site was probably one of the best locations in the city and justified having a high-quality block on it.
“It’s a magic site from a view perspective, from a neighbourhood perspective, from an amenity perspective it’s kind of got all you want.”
The changes to Hamilton East in the last five to 10 years with the opening of MADE had also helped sell the apartments because residents had everything at their doorstep, he said.
Mace said while there were other apartments around, there was a shortage of bonafide apartment blocks to choose from in Hamilton yet the demand for them was there.
“It is a unique product. I don’t think you can compare it to other parts of the market and for a lot of people it’s probably a downsize. If you are selling a lifestyle block and you are wanting to leave that part of life behind you where you are tied to the house and to the block and create yourself a bit more versatility of flexibility they can kind of move into this and lose a bit of the strings and give you a bit of freedom time ...”
“I think it’s probably one of those markets where people are potentially – believe it or not – probably trading down or trading something of a similar value to get into. I think that’s probably part of the reason where it’s probably decoupled from other parts of the housing market or apartment market.”
Hills Apartments was the first high-end apartment block to be built in Hamilton in recent years. The 19 apartments were completed in 2022 and so far only one had been resold on the open market.
Lugtons salesperson Jamie Barakat, who sold the three-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment for $1.185m earlier this month, said it had been a difficult property to price because there were so few comparable sales. Only one other apartment had been resold since they were completed and it was an off-market sale for $1.13m at the end of last year.
Barakat said while the Hills Apartments had attracted a lot of interest from older couples looking to downsize, only having one car park and not having a downstairs toilet appeared to have put them off.
“There’s definitely more of a demand for the high-end stand-alone ones rather than these types, but what we were getting is a lot of downsizers or older couples.”
A two-year-old apartment in the Hills Apartments complex, in Hamilton East, sold this month for $1.185m. Photo / Supplied
The apartment sold in three weeks to a Raglan family looking for somewhere to stay in during the week so they could be closer to their kids’ schools.
“I wasn’t struggling to find people. My open homes were very busy, private viewing and enquiry was really good so I would say yes there is an increasing demand for it for sure especially in that Hamilton East.”
Barakat said the Hamilton East apartments offered a high-spec option compared to a lot of the riverside apartments in the CBD, which had been around for a long time.
“The ones that are in the city and have views on the other side of the bridge, they are already there and established [and] they are just looking really dated now.”
There are several other Hamilton East apartment blocks also in the pipeline. The Hills Terraces, which is stage two of the Hills Village and includes some mixed-use residential and commercial apartments, are being sold off-the-plans now, which stage three – the Anzac Apartments – includes a further 10 bespoke apartments. Engas Developments is also planning a four-storey complex with 27 apartments on the corner of Anzac Parade, Memorial Drive and Puutikitiki Street.
Harcourts Hamilton director Campbell Scott agreed it was “slim pickings” when it came to higher-end apartments.
For a long time Hamilton only had entry-level apartment stock available, he said, but this had changed in the last few years with developers building higher quality apartments for owner-occupiers.
“It’s great to see some of them are taking advantage of the river locations. There’s definitely a market for it but there had been for a long time very little supply.”
Scott said Hamilton East had always been a sought-after suburb with all the amenities and now had more purpose-built residential apartments, but he thought there would be a similar demand for the same type of apartments with secure parking, private balconies and views in the CBD if they existed.
“The ones in the city – when they come up – they are pretty highly contested.”
Scott said the high-end apartments in the CBD were scattered around the city and often hidden in repurposed commercial apartments that a lot of people didn’t even know existed.
There had been several residential apartment buildings touted in the CBD a few years ago, but they ended up being put on ice after the market downturn.
Scott said they were now seeing purpose-built apartments targeting owner-occupiers who were downsizing and wanted a city bolthole, and those buyers were happy to spend the money for the lifestyle it provided.
“You get a $2.5m home and that comes with a fair amount of maintenance. You’ve got a pool to look after, you’ve got grounds to look after and that’s great for an age and stage, but there’s a lot of people who still want the quality and luxury those homes offer without all of the maintenance aspects that come with it.”
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