First-time buyers have paid $1.43 million for a golden toilet.
The lustrous bathroom was one of several standout features in the three-bedroom Auckland home that was snapped up by housing market newbies Pradip and Hiral.
The couple, who are expecting their first child in March, fought hard at the Ray White auction on Wednesday.
They had only just viewed Glenfield property two days before, but they knew it was the one for them.
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The house had been given a colourful makeover by vendor Peter Purins, with agent Jadyn Dixon referring to it as a “private Caesar's Palace” in his OneRoof listing.
Pradip said: “We saw this house and it just did it for me. My wife went, ‘Oh my god, I want this house’. We loved the big outside area, the waterfall the pool, everything.
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“I still can’t believe it’s our first house and we get everything, things I couldn’t imagine.
“When we saw the painted walls, the ceilings, we thought, ‘This is a dream’. We hadn’t imagined this ever."
The auction was not easy. Bidding with the three bidders quickly reached $1.375m (the house has a CV of $1.3m) before pausing for lengthy negotiations. After almost two hours of back and forth, the house was declared on the market at $1.43m and sold.
Purins, who is from Latvia, said that while he had hoped for more to reflect the cost and time of his “never-ending project”, he wanted to move on and was pleased the house was sold.
He was also pleased with the buyers' reaction to his house.
The house featured an epic outdoor kitchen with fire place and beer taps. Photo / Supplied
The new owners can’t believe their first home includes such features as a waterfall and pool. Photo / Supplied
“Everyone was so surprised at the imagination [brought to the decorating], and they wanted it as is. The [couple] who bought it bought 99% of the furniture, so that’s even better, it makes it easy,” he said.
Pradip said buying the furniture was the right thing to do “as it belongs” with the house. The couple are now planning their housewarming party and will be welcoming Pradip’s parents from India next week.
“This is a dream for me,” Pradip said. The couple, who work in the cleaning industry, have been in New Zealand since the start of 2023.
Purins, who has lived in New Zealand since 1992, added many exotic touches. A gold toilet with matching basin and a wall of gilt mirrors was particularly popular for selfies during the open homes. Viewers were open-mouthed at the hand-painted murals that replicated Dutch old master paintings and cloudy skies in the living rooms and master suite, and a driveway and garage paved in marble mosaics.
The new owners bought most of the furniture as it suited the hand-painted murals in the house. Photo / Supplied
Visitors at the open home were particularly taken with the gold loo. Photo / Supplied
The winning spot was the huge outside entertaining area – a covered outdoor kitchen complete with a wood fire and taps for the beer keg, next door to a waterfall, swimming pool, and spa.
Purins tripled the size of the house, adding an entire new wing for the master bedroom suite and kitchen, putting in a new double garage and adding ensuite bathrooms to the other two bedrooms. The living room alone is 120sqm, larger than most houses in the area, he said.
Dixon said the enthusiastic crowds – over 90 groups viewed the house through the four-week campaign – were taking selfies on the golden toilet and dreaming about the parties they could host in the epic outdoor entertaining space.
Dixon said the price achieved was well above buyer feedback and bidding had been competitive.
“It was a last-minute buyer, but I am excited for all the parties,” he said.
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