A striking Auckland home that was put on the market late last year has been taken off again while building work is undertaken next door.
The four-bedroom property on Mainston Road, in Remuera, was designed by Chris Tate, one of New Zealand’s leading designers, and is known as the Fire Pit House.
Ray White agent Ross Hawkins also dubbed it the All Black House because Sir John Kirwan almost bought it (though not this time around) and because the College Rifles fields can be accessed out the back gate.
There was strong buyer interest and a deal was made – but then the machinery rolled in next door, Hawkins said.
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“It backs onto College Rifles’ car park area and College Rifles have leased their car park area to a childcare centre and they are building a childcare centre right next door to the property, so they are drilling and piling,” he said.
“It’s a major construction zone so while that’s happening with all the shaking and drilling and machinery and noise, they made a decision to take it off the market until the main groundworks are done at least.”
Hawkins said the building work did not affect the property but was putting off potential buyers.
“While all those earthworks and things are going on it’s not a very nice place to be to be honest so they [the vendors] thought ‘it’s going to affect our sale so let’s give it a rest’.”
An offer had been made that was conditional on due diligence but the buyer came round for a final pre-inspection the day the diggers arrived and went, “Oh, we don’t want to live next door to a construction site” so they pulled out.
The house on Mainston Road was designed by Chris Tate and is striking inside and outside. Photo / Supplied
Hawkins is not sure when the property will come back on the market but said it could be about three months.
The house is one of the first residential builds to use the Symonite cladding system, which is a powder-coated aluminum used on a lot of commercial buildings around Auckland, and which is now commonly used for its low maintenance but modern and slick black look.
The house has a sunken fire pit in the deck and a 13.5m infinity pool and back when it was for sale previously, Kirwan “almost purchased it” but found a site in Mission Bay instead, using the same architect to design his home there.
Hawkins said it was a bit gutting to lose the recent almost sale which had been negotiated and which both parties had been happy with but the owners had not been notified about the construction, “so it was as much a surprise to the vendors as it was to the buyers”.
The sunken firepit in the deck is a unique feature of the home. Photo / Supplied
In a city with a lot of construction, sellers are sometimes inconvenienced by building work, he said.
He said the council was looking at zoning changes in the city and he urged consideration be given to the impact on current owners.
“They are talking about this blanket zoning across certain areas. They should be basing the zoning on topography and the lie of the land because people have bought on the top of ridges (for example) to get a nice view and then suddenly they are saying you may be able to go three or four stories below you, which will block your view and I don’t think it’s really the way zoning should be dealt with.”
A view is often a big factor in why people buy a property in a suburb like Remuera and if the view is impacted, or removed altogether, it can affect value.
Hawkins said if the property owner was lucky there could be a height restriction covenant on the property in front which is a very good thing when it comes to retaining value.
That happened recently with a property he sold on Remuera Road where the house below had a covenant so it could not be built up.
A five-bedroom house on Remuera Road, in Remuera, Auckland, sold under the hammer last year for $7.1m – $1.7m above its CV. Photo / Supplied
“We went to auction with that and the auction went absolutely crazy and we sold it for $7.1m because it had protected views.”
Sometimes owners who are wealthy enough buy the property in front of them, put a covenant on to protect their view and value and then resell.
“In the higher end it’s more common because they can afford to do that. Even if they lose a little bit on the house that they buy and put the covenant on it’s money well spent because it protects their main asset behind it.”
The only way to remove a covenant is to buy the property with the covenant and the one that the covenant is in favour of and then have the covenant removed, he said.
Hawkins said it was common enough in Remuera for owners to buy the house next door as well to protect their asset.
“It’s a bit like monopoly isn’t it. You know, you buy the house and you buy the house next door and you are on the street and then you put hotels on it.
“You’d be surprised how many people have brought their neighbour’s house in various Remuera locations, Parnell locations, we deal in.”
The suburb has a number of multi-owned houses in clusters, he said.
“I mean, your best investment really is your neighbour’s place if you’ve got a high-quality home and a high-end piece of real estate.”
- Click here to find more properties for sale in Remuera
