Buyers have paid more than $12 million for a former mandarin orchard in Point Wells, north of Auckland.
The flat 4.4-hectare waterfront property, which looks across the Whangateau Harbour to the rich-lister beach enclave of Omaha, is one of the last undeveloped plots of land in an area populated by luxury holiday homes.
Records show it had a CV of just $3.45m, but Precision agent Di Balich, who brokered the sale, said the uniqueness of the property meant council numbers were irrelevant.
“This is unique. There is no block on the water that is comparable,” said Balich.
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“The price is confidential, but the vendors are very happy.”
Balich said the buyers, who she cannot reveal, knew the area well but had not been actively looking to make a purchase.
“They just saw it and fell in love with it. It crystallised all their dreams. They want to build a family compound,” she said, adding that the existing 150sqm house on the site would be handy accommodation while plans are put in place for a new build.
The former mandarin orchard is surrounded by other luxury properties and is one of the last big estates on the waterfront. Photo / Supplied
Balich said that buyers looking for big waterfront plots to build multi-family estates are an emerging trend in the area, with the search concentrated on places that are handy driving distance from Auckland, but outside developed suburbs like Omaha.
“The success of Tara Iti [the luxury golf course near Mangawhai] has shown that people are attracted to the space and all that privacy. It’s on a golf course, but then people want that with spectacular views, by the beach, surrounded by wildlife and tranquillity, with no nosy neighbours.
“I had at least four buyers looking seriously. They’re very specific, and prepared to wait for the right thing. They’ll say ‘just let me know if there’s anything else like that’.
“Waterfront is the ultimate.”
The price for the Point Wells property beats the earlier $12m price set for a 9ha piece of land on Omaha Block Access Road in March 2019. The original basic home has now been replaced by a luxury lodge-style property by the owners, financiers Carmel and Hugh Fisher.
Another 26ha luxury property with its own lighthouse was being marketed for around $10m and sold this summer . Photo / Supplied
The lifestyle property market in the area has picked up this summer.
In January another 26ha property on the same road, a 1980s three-bedroom house with its own lighthouse sold for an undisclosed price. The listing agent, Bayleys’ Kellie Bissett, said details of the sale were confidential but records show the property was being marketed for around $10m.
In winter last year, Bissett sold a cliff-top property on 5.85ha on Tatham Road, above Leigh, for $7.6m, which was on the market for the first time in five decades.
She said that when these exceptional one-off properties come to the market, buyers recognise the value.
“They appreciate the exclusivity and privacy, and recognise that it’s highly unlikely that something like this comes up more than once in their generation,” she said.
For a finished luxury house, not just land, $14.495m is still the record for a sprawling 1039sqm mansion on Jackson Crescent, above Mahurangi on the same coast, which sold in 2019. The cedar and schist house on a 5.7-hectare estate included a circular library room, a piano room, underground wine cellar, 20-metre heated swimming pool and gym, organic gardens and orchards and room for the luxury cars and helicopter with wide views overlooking Martins Bay, to the Hauraki Gulf.
This home on Jackson Crescent, above Mahurangi, holds the record price for the northern coast around Matakana. Photo / Supplied
Balich said the Point Wells Road property was the last big estate in the area and there are now very few to be found near the water, with the exception of a handful around Martins Bay.
“Leigh is impossible on the water. Tāwharanui, Baddeleys, Buckleton are nigh impossible. Those little jewels, maybe only one or two a year could come up, and that’s only if you could dislodge the vendors,” she said
“There are some that are saying ‘bring me $18m and I might think about it’. These northern coastal spreads are getting to be an exclusive strip.”
Back in Omaha, Balich is marketing one of the few waterfront properties to come to the market this summer. She said the four-bedroom, architect-designed house on a 1039sqm site on 6 Katui Lane elevated above the beachfront walkway is likely to fetch over $9m, beating the October record for a beachfront property on Inanga Lane that sold for $8.32m.
A waterfront property on Katui Lane is expected to break the current Omaha record. Photo / Supplied
Ray White’s Sue Hatton, who with Heather Walton is marketing a 10.8-hectare plot of land on Ward Road, off Matakana Valley Road with views across to Omaha, expects buyers will be stumping up over $3m for the rolling property which comes with a stand of native bush and plans for a luxurious Sumich Chaplin Architects-designed home.
“We’re seeing the lifestyle properties heating up,” said Hatton.
“It’s a combination of people selling up in Ponsonby and buying in Matakana since Covid, as well as second-home buyers. But it’s a completely different price point to buy big pieces of land on the water, compared to waterfront.”
