A “beach path” in New Zealand’s most expensive suburb has sold for just under $3 million, OneRoof can reveal.
The 956sqm freehold site at 320 Jervois Road, in Herne Bay, Auckland, was snapped up this month by a Kiwi architect based in Melbourne for $2.85m, after three years on the market.
Michael Greer, of Boulgaris Realty in Parnell, said the sloping site had been in the same family’s hands for 50 years and was used as a private path to the beach for the owners of a neighbouring bungalow.
He said the buyer was planning to return to New Zealand and had been looking for a plot of land to build her forever home on.
Start your property search
She wasn’t put off by the site’s drawbacks. “She is an architect – she is used to consents and she’s from Wellington so quite comfortable with slopes. She just laughs, it wasn’t something onerous for her,” Greer said.
Discover more:
- Xero founder Rod Drury got $12m for his Hawke's Bay mansion
- Bought for $285,000, sold for $8m - Mount Maunganui bach stuns at auction
- Dame Jenny Gibbs puts $12.5m price tag on her art gallery home
“She’s picturing a house that sort of weaves through the [pohutukawa] trees and staggers downwards. It will probably take up to three years [to build]. She’ll be working with her former partners in Wellington.”
The property, which does not have driveway access, first went on the market back in May 2021. Greer told OneRoof said the listing attracted plenty of attention but the site’s many challenges “inhibited people’s enthusiasm”. Only a handful of serious buyers went to view the property in person, he said.
The property had been owned by the same family for 50 years and is next to some of the most expensive homes in NZ. Photo/ Supplied
Neighbouring 27 Marine Parade, in Herne Bay, is looking for more than $40m. Photo / Supplied
“It’s not flat, it had no consent or driveway so it doesn’t have premium value. But in saying that, the view and location compensate for that.”
Greer said the vendors were extremely grateful for the sale. “One said I was like a dog with a bone.”
The sale price of $2.85m is almost $2m below the property’s 2021 CV, and a bargain for a waterfront spot in Herne Bay.
The price difference between a vacant site in the suburb and one with a house is significant. Around the corner at 27 Marine Parade is a waterfront mansion for sale for more than $40m, while across Coxs Bay in Westmere, rich-lister Anna Mowbray and Ali Williams paid $24m for a property they have since torn down and rebuilt.
- Click here to find more properties for sale in Herne Bay
