Former New Zealand Idol judge Jackie Clarke and her husband, film director Grant Lahood, have sold their Auckland villa for $2.9 million – more than eight times what they paid for it 24 years ago.
Clarke and Lahood walked away with a $2.56m profit, on paper at least, after the hammer came down on their home in Northland Street, Grey Lynn, this week.
The sale price even managed to surpass the house’s new CV of $2.775m.
Clarke and Lahood declined to talk about the sale but told OneRoof earlier this month that they had almost passed on the house when they first saw it back in 1998, thinking it was out of their league.
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Luck was on their side, though, when a few weeks later they saw it listed at a price they thought they could manage. They ended up buying it for $356,000.
“We got a second bite at the cherry – made an offer which was accepted and here we are today,” Clarke told OneRoof at the start of month.
Clarke and Lahood's Northland Street in Grey Lynn, Auckland. They bought it in 1998 for $356,000. Photo / Supplied
Clarke, who has made her name as a singer and entertainer and made a memorable appearance as a judge on New Zealand Idol, said that she and Lahood were looking to build a new home and now had seemed the right time to sell.
“Our two sons are grown up now and it just feels like it’s time for Grant and me to have some new adventures – maybe building on a piece of land we own, up north,” she said.
The character villa with its 471sqm section, which is big for Grey Lynn, has since had two renovations, replacing the typical old 1970s add-ons.
“Our wonderful architect Briar Green made it really work. We have a flat roof at the back – it’s almost Japanese-style,” Clarke said.
Ray White agents Marty Hall and Heather Lanting, who marketed the property, had said the property was unique for the suburb.
“Jackie and Grant have lived here for 24 years and had the most amazing family lifestyle. What they have created here is seldom found,” Hall said.
At the same auction, another Grey Lynn three-bedroom villa on Rose Road sold for $2.88m while a two-bedroom Arts and Crafts-style cottage on Marlborough Street in Mount Eden fetched $2.87m.
- Additional reporting Louise Richardson
