A stunning Hawke’s Bay home that was for sale during the height of Cyclone Gabrielle causing limited access to it has broken the record for the most expensive property in the region this year after selling for mid-$5 million.
Viewings for the Lane Road property were held over just one weekend in early February before the cyclone struck.
The property, like thousands of houses in the region, lost power so open homes were put on hold for several weeks.
Oliver Road salesperson Nic Goodman said it sold during a challenging time for the region. “The power pole in front of their property basically blew over so their whole road didn’t have power quite a lot longer than other areas,” she said.
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Travel both within and out of the region was still fraught when viewings resumed, but that didn’t stop multiple offers being made on the property. The sale went unconditional in April.
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“Even getting around was not easy from Napier even to Havelock, not easy at all. Suddenly a bridge would close because they would realise it wasn’t safe – it was crazy.”
She admitted it is “probably quite a surprise” that the property sold around the time of cyclone, but said it ticked a lot of boxes for people.
The architecturally-designed Graham Weaver home had four bedrooms, four-and-a-half bathrooms, gym, tennis court, wine cellar and inground pool.
“There were just buyers in the market who were ready to pounce because of the quality of the build – just a whole lot of things. There were some very strong offers.”
The home ticked a lot of boxes with an inground pool, tennis court, wine cellar and gym.
Most of the interest came from locals who hadn’t really been actively looking including the Hawke's Bay family who bought it, but there was also interest from Aucklanders and one overseas buyer.
Goodman said there is a shortage of high-quality properties for sale. “We’ve got lots of buyer demand from all over, but pre-dominantly Hawke’s Bay, but we just haven’t got enough properties to sell.”
The exact price cannot be disclosed until settlement, but it is believed to be the most expensive property to sell in the Hawke’s Bay this year and the second-highest sale in the last five years, according to OneRoof-Valocity records.
The most expensive sale was in May last year when a property on Duart Road in Havelock North sold in an off-market deal for $8.8m.
Goodman said there is still plenty of demand from people wanting bigger homes that offer privacy and were close to either Havelock village or Napier. A pool is also often on the wish list, she said.
She’s currently selling a five-bedroom, three-bathroom home at 110 Durham Drive, Havelock North, with an asking price of $3.49m.
“It’s an amazing property ... it offers the most extraordinary value. It’s actually two titles and it’s a huge home, a beautiful pool – it's extraordinary.”
Multiple offers were made on the Lane Road home.
Goodman said Havelock seemed to be the most desirable area in Hawke’s Bay, especially amongst families with teenage children and the prices reflect that. Luxury homes in Havelock start from $2.5m upwards, while Napier Hills homes start from the high $1m.
Rather than the cyclone deterring people, Goodman said it had resulted in some Napier-based families looking to move to Havelock North to be closer to the popular private schools as the commute between the two areas was taking longer since the cyclone.
“People in Hawke’s Bay are used to having to sit in traffic for a while ... people are getting niggled by that.”
Bayleys Havelock North salesperson Gretchen Paape said the market went a bit quiet for a few weeks immediately after Cyclone Gabrielle, but there was still a lot of demand for high-end properties and not many were available.
Most want something that is fully renovated and “move-in ready” with a modern kitchen and bathrooms, and often a pool and tennis court.
“I've got a number of people that are looking around that $5m, but just at the moment we haven't had a lot of stock that's come on.”
A lot of that enquiry is from people within Hawke's Bay looking to either upsize or downsize.
The most sought-after areas are on the hill around Havelock North and Paape is currently selling a large eight-bedroom, eight-bathroom property on 24 hectares in Ongaonga inviting buyer enquiry over $8m.
Paape has also been involved in several off-market sales where local buyers on her database have snapped up homes such as one in Havelock North's popular dress circle established streets, which include Greenwood Road and McHardy Street. Both properties were in the $4m price range.
“There's certainly a demand for that sort of thing.”
Tremains central region general manager Stu Christensen said some people impacted by the cyclone, especially in the Eskdale lifestyle area, have already received their insurance payouts and are now shopping for a new home.
Christensen said they were looking in a range of places including Bay View, Puketapu and Havelock North. Those areas that are slightly elevated are also giving them an extra bit of confidence.
“There's not enough of that to put pressure on price, but we've definitely seen people that are needing to buy something.”
But because stock levels are the lowest for some time and there is not much for sale in the upper end, he said a sudden influx of buyers could "definitely have a little boom”.
- Click here to find more properties for sale in Havelock North
