- A Kiwi living in Australia bought a West Auckland resort for over $1.5m.
- The property features tropical gardens, a renovated barn, and a three-bedroom house.
- The buyer plans to retire and utilise the property for gardening and displaying his collection.
A Kiwi based in Australia has bought a West Auckland “resort” whose owners wanted out “ASAP”.
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The buyer snapped up the Balinese-themed lifestyle property just before Christmas for more than $1.5 million and plans to get busy gardening.
Listing agent Roy Crane, of Paterson Investments, told OneRoof last year that the vendors had decided to quit the 1.37-hectare estate on Waimauku Station Road less than three months after taking possession.
They had paid $1.56m for the property in August last year and spent $120,000 more on upgrades before pulling the plug.
The vendors spent tens of thousands of dollars upgrading the property, and transformed the barn into a workspace. Photo / Supplied
The 1.37ha property boasts lush tropical gardens and ponds. Photo / Supplied
The retreat features ponds, streams, waterfalls and lush tropical gardens and was originally part of the neighbouring Settlers Country Manor. It comes with a renovated barn, a three-bedroom house .
Crane said his expat buyer, a Wellingtonian who had been living in Australia for eight years, began negotiations just before Christmas but didn’t seal the deal until after the summer holidays.
“He’s a very keen gardener who has led a full life, but he saw this as a great opportunity to come [back to New Zealand] and retire. He’s a collector, and he saw a great property to enjoy; it’s a chance to get [his collection], which he’s accumulated over the years, out of the container.”
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Crane said the vendors put a lot of effort into transforming the property into a conference centre, but an unfortunate change of family circumstances had forced them to sell.
“It was heartbreaking for them. They had wanted to develop it into an event style place for other people to come and enjoy,” Crane said.
Crane said that despite the sale being at the RV level, the residential housing market in his patch still favoured buyers.
The property combines three titles and had been used as an events centre. Photo / Supplied
“A lot of people are putting properties on the market. We’ve got to work hard to match those buyers with those sellers.”
Crane said overseas buyers, mostly from Australia and Singapore, were showing interest in the luxury property market. North American buyers were also making enquiries, and he called on the Government to relax the rules on foreign purchases.
“The interest is definitely there – we just need the Government to come to the party,” he told OneRoof.
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