- An Auckland mansion in Remuera, known as the White House, is for sale after 40 years.
- Michael Boulgaris expects it to sell for around $20m, more than double its $8.7m RV.
- Owners Clyde and Wendy have maintained its Victorian style, enhancing it with quality renovations.
An Auckland mansion touted as “the most prominent house in Remuera” has hit the market for sale for the first time in more than 40 years – and the listing agent believes it will sell for more than double its RV.
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Michael Boulgaris, head of Boulgaris Realty, said 5 Pere Street was a house most Aucklanders were familiar with. Dubbed the White House, the striking four-bedroom, villa sits proudly on the slopes of Mount Hobson.
“This would be one of the most significant homes [in Remuera]. It’s one of those houses people can see – they all know it. So many of the places on Remuera Road are hidden behind high walls and gates, but the White House stands out,” he told OneRoof.
The house, halfway up Ōhinerau Mount Hobson, has spectacular views of the harbour and Rangitoto. Photo / Supplied
The original details were restored on the Pere Street house, one of only a few grand houses left in the suburb. Photo / Supplied
The trophy home has an RV of $8.7 million, but Boulgaris said it was definitely in the same league as the $20m-plus homes currently on the market in the suburb.
“You have to agree, this has a round number,” he said of the expected sale price. “There’s a huge volume of land – 1780sqm. It’s exciting for a buyer.”
Vendors Clyde and Wendy (they asked OneRoof not to use their surnames) said they had worked on the house almost continuously during the 40-plus years they have owned it.
They declined to say what they paid for the property but said they bought it in 1979 from former MP Eric Halstead.
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“It had had very few owners, so she hadn’t been messed with. The worst thing was the kitchen, we had green linoleum benches and floor, we only had one upstairs bathroom and that was in terrible shape,” Wendy told OneRoof.
Over the years the family added bathrooms, put in more French doors to open rooms to the verandahs and shuffled a couple of fireplaces, but were careful not to rearrange the Victorian-style formal floor plan.
Their biggest project, finished six years ago, was joining up a medley of smaller utility rooms to create their kitchen in the grand style of an English country house, a job that took some three years of planning and sourcing. They brought in a stylish black Falcon cooker and added a huge arched window to open up to light, adding marble tops and crafted lights.
The English country-style kitchen was one of the few rooms to have walls moved and a window added. Photo / Supplied
The fireplaces were left in the house and the pressed ceilings are original. Photo / Supplied
“At every turn, every step we’ve taken with this property we have endeavored to retain the originality of it, so it always looked very classic and timeless,” Clyde said.
“We always went for quality, rather than watching the dollar signs,” Wendy added.
But the couple, who are now in their 70s, want to leave the house in good hands “while we have all our faculties. We want to remember her in all her glory,” she said.
Boulgaris said there was probably only one other Auckland home that was as well-known and iconic as the White House – the “wedding cake” house of socialite Gilda Kirkpatrick on rich-lister street Paritai Drive.
"Like the White House, it’s one of those places you can look up and admire driving past.”
Barfoot & Thompson agent Paul Neshausen agreed that the Kirkpatrick house on Paritai Drive fitted the bill of an Auckland landmark.
“It’s not one of the most expensive, those $40m or $50m ones like Graham Hart’s place on Riddell Road, but it is so well-known.”
Bayleys Remuera agent Steve Koerber noted that only a handful of Remuera houses could be considered landmarks – most of which were on Arney Road and Arney Crescent.
“It’s got to be in prime real estate – big land, big house, tennis court and spectacular views,” he said.
- 5 Pere Street, Remuera, Auckland, is for sale, tender closing April 16
