Has New Zealand's house price record been broken?
Less than a week after OneRoof reported the $45.5 million sale of a mansion in Queenstown, the Auckland trophy home looking for an equally big amount has sold.
The Bayleys listing for the Herne Bay marvel created by rich-lister property developer Kurt Gibbons says the property has sold.
OneRoof reached out to listing agent Edward Pack and Gibbons for comment on the sale. Pack, who has several big deals under his belt, declined; Gibbons had not replied at the time of publication.
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It is unclear if Gibbons' mansion will trouble the record books. Chantecler, in Queenstown, is the current record holder with a sale price of $45.5m, set in 2023.
That deal, brokered by Hamish Walker, of Walker & Co, was driven as much by the development potential of the estate as the house itself. Gibbons' waterfront property, however, doesn't have a development overlay - whoever bought it likely did so for the house and its location.
Property developer Kurt Gibbons: "I'm in the industry and even I couldn’t stick to budget." Photo / Fiona Goodall
The master bedroom in Gibbons' Marine Parade house makes the most of the view. Photo / Fiona Goodall
OneRoof got a tour of Gibbons' five-bedroom home when it first hit the market in June last year.
Gibbons and his wife, Makere, bought the property more than four years ago for $23.5m and conducted a stunning renovation.
They commissioned architects Fearon Hay to give the house a complete makeover and bring a five-star hotel vibe to the interiors.
The money and luxury touches are on full display inside.
Gibbons declined to tell OneRoof the final cost of the build, which included earthworks on the cliff front to make a level surface for a tennis court, but admitted that it was “much, much more” than the $8m he had planned to spend.
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“These [builds] cost a fortune. I’m in the industry and even I couldn’t stick to budget,” he said, adding, “It’s done up pretty good, eh?”
At 900sqm in size, the house is one of the biggest in upmarket Herne Bay but as stunning as it is, it’s one the Gibbons have never made their home.
The family relocated to Queenstown during the renovation and have stayed there. “The kids love it down there, my wife loves it, we don’t want to leave,” Gibbons told OneRoof in June last year.
The living spaces are stylish and modern. They occupy the ground floor with the sleeping quarters on the top floor. Photo / Fiona Goodall
The bathroom is an ode to marble. "The stone alone was $1.5m," says Gibbons. Photo / Fiona Goodall
He said of the house: “This is an international-style home. We wanted the master bedroom to have extraordinary views – and be massive. Downstairs we wanted the kitchen, dining room and lounge to be one big open area and be open to the pool and tennis court.”
The staircase was relocated from the middle of the house to the front, making room for the new master bedroom, a steel and glass box that spans the two Victorian-looking wings of the house. Glass walls slide away to open the room to the water and garden views.
The former master bedroom was turned into a colossal ensuite, while downstairs the original conservatory, which had impeded views of the harbour, was replaced by a matching glass and steel box for the kitchen and living room.
The current record holder: Chantecler, on Lower Shotover Road, in Queenstown-Lakes, sold for $45.5 million. Photo / James Allan
The Gibbons, who love marble, handpicked nearly 100 slabs of special grey-blue travertine, which they used in all the bathrooms, the main kitchen and around the staircase. “The stone alone was $1.5m, and all the cabinets are handcrafted by SCE stone. It’s basically like sculpture,” Gibbons said.
The house also includes two media rooms – one for the kids, one for the grown-ups – a wine cellar and an outdoor teppanyaki kitchen and barbecue (another kitchen serves the tennis pavilion party room).
The “bigger than full-sized tennis court” was for Makere (she was a professional tennis player before her television career with sports show The Crowd Goes Wild). “There are so many zones for entertaining and having friends over,” Gibbons told OneRoof during the tour. “It’s completely private, we don’t get any wind, and we get the sun all day.”
The Marine Parade's standout tennis court. Photo / Supplied
The public-facing kitchen is one of four in Gibbons' house. Photo / Fiona Goodall
OneRoof reported last month that Gibbons had sold the “$50 million” supermarket he built with partner Benn Cook several blocks away at 1 Kelmarna Avenue. That listing was also with Bayleys, although the sale price and buyer still remain under wraps.
Gibbons and his rich-lister business partner Ben Cook developed 1 Kelmarna Avenue together after spotting a gap in the market. They put the building up for sale in 2022, just months after it opened.
Cook off-loaded his Bunnings Westgate store, New Zealand’s largest, for $51m last year and is selling his bach on Waikehe Island with Kellands agents Martin Dobson and Charles Collins.
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