A luxury home in a gated estate on Auckland’s Tawharanui Peninsula has hit the market, less than two months after buyers paid over $13 million for a neighbouring spread.
Barfoot & Thompson agent James Doole said homes in the exclusive Bishop Hill neighbourhood were in demand but because the listing for 329 Whitmore Road had just gone live, he was cautious about predicting where the price might land.
“Definitely not the CV [of $3.8m]. We’re saying it could be in the $5 millions or even the sixes,” he said.
“As far as I know this is only the second property to trade in Bishop Hill. It’s a world-class subdivision, all the sites have sold and a lot of people are living here permanently.”
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The vendor is no stranger to the area, arriving here on his OE in 1977 to catch up with his friend, Ant Morris, who had just founded the legendary Matakana pottery, Morris and James.
“Matakana was a very different place then,” he told OneRoof. He eventually emigrated to New Zealand in 2006 with his family, but it wasn’t until 2012 that the family landed back in the area.
They bought the land in Bishop Hill in 2017, drawn to the privacy of the estate, with its bush walks and access to the water, picking a plot that faced past the bush to the water and westerly views.
The gable roofline is striking. Photo / Supplied
The four-bedroom home has a CV of $3.8m. Photo / Supplied
“We’ve bored a lot of people with our beautiful sunset shots. There’s very little light pollution here, you can lie in the spa and look at the stars,” he said, adding that while this was only the family’s third house in New Zealand, they had decades of experience with barn conversions and renovations in the UK.
The U-shaped cedar house is wrapped around courtyards for sheltered outdoor living, and there are smartly landscaped grounds and a spa pool tucked beside the house. Doole said that there was room to put in a pool, tennis court and helicopter pad on the site.
The six-year-old luxury property sits on 1.19ha overlooking an estuary. It is close to Matakana village. Photo / Supplied
The house, built five years ago, reflects the owners’ English tastes and their background in the furniture and design industry. It includes a country-style kitchen modelled on the exclusive DeVol brand and craftsman touches – all from local artisans – generous living rooms and bedrooms. The master suite, with its over-sized bathroom, was designed for hotel-like luxury.
Bishop Hill was established in 2016 by Oyster Capital, and sits on over 110ha headland facing the Matakana River estuary, Kawau Bay and the Hauraki Gulf and includes walking tracks through the bush, internal private roading and boat ramp at Bishop Lane for sea access to the Sandspit Yacht Club or Kawau Island.
The land on Bishophill Farm was subdivided into 16 rural sections, that protected the 45ha of native bush, wetland and the headland pa.
Doole broke price records for the area with his August sale of a neighbouring home in the estate.
Another six-year-old estate on Bishop Lane, a gated community on the Tawharanui Peninsula, sold in August for $13.25m. Photo / Supplied
The four-bedroom retreat designed by Sumich Chaplin architects had hit the market in June, with the listing agent telling OneRoof at the time that he was only showing the home to qualified buyers prepared to pay $12m-plus.
“We had really good interest and many qualified buyers, so a few people missed out. It was a very successful tender,” Doole had said. He could disclose that it was bought by an Auckland family.
“Interest was from both locals and international, there are lots of ex-pats around the world who know the area.” The property has a 2021 CV of $5.075m.
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