A beachfront home on Cheltenham Beach on Auckland’s North Shore that sold for $8.3 million was a coup for the owners of nearly 30 years, who had paid $810,000 in 1994 for their home.
They earlier told OneRoof that when they bought the property in 1994, it was in a state of disrepair and had been converted into flats.
But while their purchase price would be the inflation-adjusted equivalent of about $1.6m in today’s money, that’s not all capital gain, as in 2002 the family completely rebuilt the house from the ground up.
The renovated four-bedroom house on Cheltenham Road, Devonport, had been on the market for more than a year. It had a CV of $8.125m.
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The two-storey property opened up onto the beach from a flat 600sqm site and boasted a renovation by award-winning architect Geoff Richards.
“To be honest, about the only thing left of the original house are the floorboards downstairs – it was a very, very major job,” the owner earlier told OneRoof, adding that with three children under five at the time, the family de-camped while the builders took over.
The sellers of the beachfront home on Cheltenham Beach, Devonport, in Auckland’s North Shore paid $810,000 for the original home, which was in a state of disrepair, in 1994. Photo / Supplied
The upstairs master bedroom has unmatched views of the beach and ocean. Photo / Supplied
The Cheltenham Road sale price was the highest for beachfront this year, and the fourth highest price for the Devonport area. A house on Arawa Avenue fetched $8.75m in 2016, while properties on Winscombe Street and Rata Road sold for $10m each in 2016 and 2018 respectively.
It doesn’t reach the top waterfront price further up the North Shore where buyers paid $13.25m for a sprawling 612sqm Cape Cod-style house on the water on Minnehaha Avenue, Takapuna in August 2021 (its CV was $11.8m) and a house on Rarere Road, fronting Takapuna beach, that sold for $12.25m in February 2020.
The house opens straight to the beach on Cheltenham. Photo / Supplied
The house was rebuilt from the floor boards up under the direction of architect Geoff Richards in 2002. Photo / Supplied
While Bayleys agent Victoria Bidwell could not comment on the Cheltenham Road sale, she said it was a character house built to modern standard, and that properties on Cheltenham Beach are very tightly held and seldom come to market.
She said that expat Kiwis relocating home were driving the interest in beachfront properties this year.
“We’ve been really pleased with the top end this year. It’s not record-breaking, but beachfront holds its value,” Bidwell said.
A three-bedroom townhouse on 19 Macky Avenue, billed as the ultimate lock-and-leave city bach for downsizers, will be auctioned November 24. Photo / Supplied
She said that price could well be beaten by another property further along Cheltenham Road: a four-bedroom home, with a one-bedroom unit, on a 900sqm site and a CV of $9.1m. The beachfront house, complete with picket fence and ancient pohutukawa tree, is only informally on the market until it launches after Christmas, but Bidwell said there is already expat interest.
She said there is a second group of buyers who are downsizing from large family homes on the beach and are now clamoring for smaller homes.
“Not everyone wants a great big house on a great big piece of land, but they want to stay on the beach,” she said.
A completely refurbished three-bedroom apartment in the picturesque Mediterranean terrace on the northern end of the beach sold last year for $5.825m - it had a CV of $3.88m - and Bidwell expects that a three-bedroom town house on a freehold 481sqm beachfront site on 19B Macky Avenue will get a similar premium when it goes under the hammer on November 24.
She’s billing it as perfect for downsizers, the ultimate city bach. It has a CV of $3.875m.
- Additional reporting, Louise Richardson
