An award-winning Dunedin home overlooking the ocean has sold for $3.575 million – more than $1m above its RV.
The four-bedroom home on Cliffs Road, in the city’s sought-after St Clair suburb, was designed by leading architecture firm Mason & Wales and was described by NZIA judges as Dunedin’s answer to Malibu.
The firm said its brief was to build a home that would “feel as if you are standing on the bridge of a ship”.
The property sold in April, just over a month after hitting the market, but the sale price was made public only last week.
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Listing agent Craig Palmer, from Bayleys, declined to comment when contacted by OneRoof, saying the new owner and vendor had requested privacy.
The $3.575m sale price is Dunedin’s highest so far this year and the city’s third-highest of all time.
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According to OneRoof records, just two Dunedin properties have sold for more: a lifestyle property on Wingatui Road, in Mosgiel, which fetched $4.5m in 2022; and a modest home on a block of development land on Ruskin Terrace, in Caversham, which was bought by Kāinga Ora in 2022 for $5.3m.
The Cliffs Road property was built in 2008 and has won a New Zealand Institute of Architects local award and a New Zealand Registered Master Builders Awards silver award.
However, it isn’t the only architectural gem in the suburb. Art patron and collector Jan Warburton commissioned an award-winning home on the same street. That home has an RV of $3.1m.
LJ Hooker agent Jason Hynes said Cliffs Road was one of the city’s most exclusive and in-demand streets, thanks to its proximity to St Clair Beach and the Esplanade and the high quality of the homes there.
The Cliffs Road home was built in 2008 and scooped several architecture awards. Photo / Supplied
The property, designed by Mason & Wales, boasts sweeping views of the ocean. Photo / Supplied
Valocity senior research analyst Wayne Shum said it was difficult to single out the most expensive street in any location because a block of flats could easily pull down the average.
However, the top end of Dunedin’s residential property market had performed strongly post-Covid, attracting, maybe not rich-listers, but well-off buyers from other parts of the country.
“Dunedin has become more desirable. A lot of buyers are business owners and are nearing retirement. They want to go back to their hometown," he said.
“You have people moving out of more expensive cities because they can live and work anywhere.”
Dunedin has seen several high-profile sales in recent months. In July, award-winning Kiwi actress Rebecca Gibney sold her Dunedin home overlooking the ocean.
Actress Rebecca Gibney and her husband, Richard Bell sold their Dunedin home in July. Photo / Supplied
Gibney, best known for her roles in Packed to the Rafters and The Flying Doctors, had decided to list the five-bedroom home on Taieri Mouth Road earlier this year to move closer to her son.
During the marketing campaign, the property had an asking price of $2.45m before the agents switched to price by negotiation.
At the end of last year, All Blacks halfback Aaron Smith sold his stylish waterfront Cliffs Road home for $1.6m.
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* An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated the sale price for the Cliffs Road home in the headline and copy. OneRoof has corrected the price and apologises for the error.
