It’s a mansion that could easily command $5 million or more if it were located in Auckland. But 155 Kimihia Road is on the outskirts of Huntly and the four-bedroom luxury home, which sits on a 4430sqm section, is for sale with an RV of $1.45m.
Huntly is not known for expensive houses. The town’s average property value is $553,000 and the most anyone has ever paid for property there is $2.2m, for a lifestyle section on Kauri Lane in March 2022.
Ray White listing agent Warren Low said 155 Kimihia Road would be worth “heaps more” if it were in Auckland or Hamilton.
The vendors paid $1.2m for the property in 2016 and are now selling up to move to Australia. The listing on OneRoof makes clear their desire to do a deal: “Our vendor’s instructions are CLEAR, and they want this property SOLD!”
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Low said his clients were retirees who had relocated to Huntly from Auckland and had spent the last few years “chilling out” in their “palace”.
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Low said the retired couple had been “chilling out” in what he described in his listing as the “Huntly palace”.
Low himself was surprised and impressed when he first saw the resort-like estate. “It’s a beautiful property,” he said.
The ceiling boasts high-raked timber and Czechoslovakian crystal chandeliers while the main fireplace is surrounded by local stone. “Why Huntly? The house is nice, the view is good and why not?” the agent told OneRoof.
The property is one of the biggest on what is Huntly’s most prestigious street and is accessed via an electric gate and long driveway.
Low said the mansion would suit owner-occupiers or someone who wanted the next step up in Huntly.
It’s not the only high-value property on offer in Huntly, though. LJ Hooker manager director Aaron Davies is selling a renovated three-bedroom, two-bathroom lifestyle property at 319B Rotowaro Road, which has an RV of $1.11m.
He said the owners had already built a new house so needed to sell the Rotowaro Road property which they bought back in 2004.
The Kimihia Road property has an inground pool and is set on a 4430sqm section. Photo / Supplied
The raked ceilings are 8m high with Czechoslovakian crystal chandeliers. Photo / Supplied
Davies said a property of that land size, 62,000sqm, the lake views and its proximity to town was relatively rare in Huntly. A similar lifestyle property closer to Hamilton with lake views could easily fetch $2m.
“What you can buy for the money for just an extra 10 minutes drive – that’s the difference. That’s what we are seeing with people that are looking at it. They are unsatisfied about what they can buy for their money and that’s a good option for them.”
Davies said interest so far had come from both Auckland and Hamilton and he believed it would suit retiring farmers or people wanting that next step up or to run a business from home.
The nicer homes currently listed for sale with Harcourts Riverlands are well below $1m and in the town’s most popular streets often with lake views, lake access or both.
Harcourts Riverlands general manager Dallas Hodge said a near-new modern three-bedroom, three-bathroom home just a short walk to the lake on Arohanui Street was one of the more expensive homes he currently had listed for sale with an asking price of $880,00. Another is a three-bedroom, two-bathroom home on Kimihia Road, overlooking Lake Hakanoa, with direct access to the lake’s walking track which could be picked up for $675,000.
A newly renovated lifestyle property on 6.2ha on Rotowaro Road has an RV of $1.11m. Photo / Supplied
The property has uninterrupted views of Lake Hakanoa. Photo / Supplied
Hodge said upper Kimihia Road and the areas around Arohanui Street, Croft Terrace, Upland Road and Riverview Road, in Huntly West, were among the most popular streets in Huntly often due to having water views and as a result had the highest prices.
There also tended to be fewer rental properties in those areas, she said. “People quite like that you sort of know who your neighbours are.”
Hodge said she was noticing more buyers from Hamilton look at Huntly because of what first-home buyers with between $500,000 and $675,000 to spend could buy.
“You are getting good value money compared to what you are getting in other locations.”
The opening of the Waikato Expressway had also made Huntly much more accessible to Hamilton and even Cambridge, she said.
In contrast, she had noticed fewer Auckland buyers looking in the town which she put down to the high cost of petrol and the ongoing roadworks on the Southern Motorway.
- 155 Kimihia Road, in Huntly, Waikato, is for sale by way of price by negotiation
