High commissioners are among the buyers eyeing up a large Khandallah property that a Wellington agent says is the best home he’s ever been lucky enough to sell.
The five-bedroom, four-bathroom property at 17 Elgin Way, with an RV of $6.5 million, sits in an exclusive cul-de-sac on a 3198sqm site and backs onto the Singapore High Commission.
Just Paterson principal Charles Morley-Hall says it is the best property he has marketed in his 20-year career due to the sheer scale, private setting and sweeping city and harbour views.
“It’s over 500sqm all on one level, the fact that it is incredibly private – it’s on just over 3000sqm of flat land – and no one looks into it or onto it, and it can never be built out, and it just has the most beautiful, beautiful views of Wellington, the city, the harbour and the hills beyond. It’s an amazing property.”
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The family who owns the property cleared the bush section 50 years ago and built a house there before replacing it with another larger property almost 20 years ago.
But they are now spending more time at another property they own outside Wellington so have decided to put it on the market, Morley-Hall says.
Embassies, families and even couples have been eyeing up the property, he says, which would be well suited as a high commission.
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“The size of the entertainment areas, the size of the master suites, it’s got room for staff and guests.
“It’s very much in the embassy area. Around it you’ve got the Singaporean Embassy, the Japanese Embassy, the Australian Embassy. It’s an embassy area, very, very secure and safe, and that appeals to people as well.”
The rateable value of $6.5m gives a “pretty good indication in terms of value”, especially when it has a land value alone of about $4m, he points out.
At this price it would smash the record for highest sale in the capital city this year which is currently held by a three-storey Georgian-style home on Oriental Parade after Lowe & Co sold it for $4.915m in February.
The Elgin Way home has large rooms suitable for entertaining and accommodating guests and staff. Photo / Supplied
A luxury home on Central Terrace in Kelburn sold in June for $3.59m. Photo / Supplied
The second biggest recorded sale is a property on Central Terrace sold by Tommy’s agent Phil Mears to a local buyer in June for $3.59m.
Mears recently sold a property on Burnham Street in Seatoun, which was inviting offers over $4.15m when it was listed earlier this year. The price had not been disclosed because it is subject to a confidential sales agreement.
Tommy’s sales manager Tim Clark says there are discerning buyers in the high-end market waiting for the right property to come along.
While Wellington’s stock levels are down overall, there are currently 29 properties with a search price of $2m-plus listed on OneRoof including nine over $3m. Clark says this is still a good number of high-end homes even if it is slightly down on the 40 that were for sale earlier this year.
Properties in Mount Victoria, Oriental Bay, Seatoun and parts of Thorndon tend to automatically fall into the higher price bracket, he says.
“That stock is moving. We’ve had some quite good success in north of $3m properties which, in this market, is probably unusual, but then again, those buyers are less affected by outside factors.
An impressive home on Burnham Street in Seatoun sold in June for an undisclosed price. Photo / Supplied
Clark says often these buyers are not actively house hunting.
“We might be tapping them on the shoulder and saying, ‘hey look you’ve always said you wanted something in this suburb with these sort of things, we’ve got it, come and have a look,’ and then if they like it, they will go ahead and buy it.”
Lowe & Co managing director Craig Lowe says it shouldn’t be any surprise that houses are selling because there are more buyers and less properties for sale than last year.
“There’s only 480 houses on the market between Tawa and Seatoun and that’s almost half of what it was last year so it really is back to a seller’s market all of a sudden and partly because people are just not putting their houses for sale on the market.”
Lowe says there’s always high demand for stunning and beautiful villas in the city fringe suburbs such as Mount Victoria and Kelburn, which can be quite rare because of the high proportion of rentals in those areas.
A home on Oriental Parade that sold for $4.915m is the most expensive property to sell in the capital so far this year. Photo / Supplied
Bayley’s agent Ben Atwill says the almost simultaneous listings of three high-end properties on McFarlane Street, along with properties on Brougham Street which sold for $5.1m and another on The Crescent fetching $4.5m at the end of last year, have helped stimulate the market.
Atwill agrees with Clark that having more than 20 properties priced over $2m provides plenty of options for wealthy buyers.
Properties that might appeal to those with plenty to spend include a five-bedroom, four-bathroom property in Karori is asking for enquiries over $3.9m, and a six-bedroom, five-bathroom home on The Crescent is also inviting buyer enquiry over $3.6m in the prestigious Roseneath area.
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