Mansion watch: What’s sold, what still for sale?
The big real estate news this week is the $45.5m sale of a mansion in Queenstown. The amount paid for Chantecler is a record for New Zealand. OneRoof first reported on the deal back in 2023 but wasn’t able to name the property or publish the exact price until partial settlement.
Hamish Walker, of Walker & Co, did the deal and, like many agents in Queenstown, is quite bullish about the upper end of the housing market and has noticed a significant uptick in buyer activity (from locals and overseas buyers).
In the last 12 months, more than 100 Queenstown properties with search prices of $5m-plus have appeared on OneRoof, of which only half are still available for sale. Expect to see some more big sales in the wealthy enclave in 2025.
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The $45.5m sale did make me think about the fate of other high-profile trophy homes that OneRoof has recently written about and what those with a spare $10m-$40m could get for their money.
Chantecler, on Lower Shotover Road, in Queenstown-Lakes, sold in 2023 for $45.5m. Photo / James Allan
27 Marine Parade, in Herne Bay, is still on the market for sale – but will it fetch a record price? Photo / Supplied
Auckland and Queenstown have the lion’s share of expensive listings, with the place to look for your traditional mansion (OneRoof has nearly 50 for sale in the city).
The Herne Bay marvel created by rich-lister property developer Kurt Gibbons is still looking for a buyer, nearly a year after it first hit the market. The last time OneRoof spoke to Gibbons, the house was pitched as a potential record-breaker.
Over in Remuera, there are three mansions on Remuera Road vying for buyer attention. One, 532 Remuera Road, listed with Terry and Diana King, is looking to break the suburb record by nabbing $32m.
The over 900sqm five-bedroom house at 532 Remuera Road, Remuera, is asking for $32m but only qualified buyers will get to see inside. Photo / Supplied
Diane Foreman and Paul Henry have put their listing on hold, but may be back later in the year. Photo / NZ Herald
One mansion that’s no longer available for sale on the open market is the Arney Crescent wonder owned by entrepreneur Diane Foreman and her broadcaster husband Paul Henry. The pair put their forever home on the market for sale in September, with Henry fronting the marketing.
“You’ll have to be rich, it is fabulously expensive,” he said in a video attached to the listing.
OneRoof understands the pair are resting the property and that it will be back on the market sometime later this year.
Another penthouse, another record
OneRoof uncovered another property price record this week - the circa-$17m sale of the penthouse apartment at 22 Karori, in Auckland’s Orakei. 22 Karori, which has been developed by Mike Sullivan and his firm Countrywide Properties, is one of several high-end apartment blocks to have hit the market in central Auckland in recent months. Some of the developments, like 51 Albert, have been completed, while others, like the Symphony, are several years away.
The arrival of new stock does pose the question: Do these new luxury apartments make others already on the market for sale somewhat redundant?
The penthouse in the newly completed 22 Karori, on Karori Crescent, in Auckland’s Orakei, sold off-the-plan for around $17m. Photo / Supplied
Ray White agent Ross Hawkins is selling the Symphony development in Auckland CBD. Photo / Fiona Goodall
Still up for grabs are the penthouses of the Pacifica, the Seascape and the CAB, and while they look fresh (in the Seascape’s case we’re talking renders as the build for that project has stalled), they were planned almost a decade ago.
OneRoof reporter Catherine Smith asked the listing agent for the Symphony, Ray White’s Ross Hawkins, for his take on the luxury apartment market.
Hawkins said luxury-apartment buyers typically fall into two distinct groups: Those who want a lock-up-and-leave in the suburbs and those who want a high-rise in the central city. “The latter are more business-focused, international buyers who understand living in these multi-use buildings, next to train stations and such.”
He said apartments that made price records in 2018 when they sold off-the-plan (one for $9.25m, another for $8m) are now getting way more as they are resold. “They know what it would cost to build that today.”
Hawkins added that he is about to bring to market a new boutique apartment development in Parnell that won’t be ready for occupancy until 2027, a sign that luxury developers are confident of the future of their market.
What about the bottom end of the market?
Not everyone can afford a mansion. In fact, many of us struggle to buy a normal house, much less a five-bedroom spread on New Zealand’s wealthiest street. Here at OneRoof, we like to cover what’s happening at the very bottom of the market, because a house that costs less than $100,000 is something we’d all like to see (even if we’d like it to look a lot better than it often does).
OneRoof reporter Diana Clement profiled a handful of cheap homes at the start of the year. The article was well read, so last week she called a few of the agents involved to see what had happened to their listings.
Melanie Muldrew, Todd & Co Realty, had a dilapidated two-bedroom shack in Tuatapere on for $85,000-plus. There were three offers, and the property ended up selling “as is, where is” for $87,5000.
“I was inundated with emails regarding the property, particularly once your article went out,” Muldrew said.
“There were a lot of interesting comments on the story. Some of them were, yeah, very comical.”
Grove Burn Road, in Tuatapere, Southland, sold “as is, where is”. Photo / Supplied
The “munted” shack at 12 Con Street, in Seddonville, Buller, is under offer. Photo / Supplied
She said most of the enquiries she got about the property were from the North Island. “I guess people there were amazed that there was a property for sale for less than $100,000.
“We ended up with three offers, which was pretty exciting for the vendor. It was a quick turnaround.”
Muldrew said she sent the buyers a text congratulating them on their purchase. “And one of them answered saying, ‘Oh, the kids will be mortified once they find out’. As far as I’m aware, it’s going to be done up to be a weekend retreat. They really like the area. They’re probably quite outdoorsy folk who like to get out and get amongst it.”
Diana also talked to Property Broker agent Paul Murray, who was selling a “munted” two-bedroom house in Seddonville, Buller. The property is one of the more challenging for sale in New Zealand due to a property boundary running right through the middle of the house.
“Well, it’s still under offer to a couple from Ashburton. It’s still ongoing because the offer is subject to the condition of an acceptable negotiation with the adjacent landowner for the purchase of additional land and surveying and all that sort of thing. So it’s a bit of a slow-burner, but it’s underway, and I’ve done all the work. That transaction’s being conducted lawyer to lawyer, so I’m out of it.”
Watch this space, bargain hunters.
- Owen Vaughan is editor of OneRoof.co.nz. You can contact him with any property tips or story ideas at owen.vaughan@nzme.co.nz
