One of the most memorable houses to appear on Grand Designs New Zealand has finally sold – some two years after it first hit the market.
Listing agent Angela Smith, from New Zealand Sotheby’s International Realty, declined to reveal the identity of the buyers, except to say they were from New Zealand.
She said the sale price of the striking coastal home, which is perched above Piha beach, in West Auckland, was “well above” the property’s CV of $2.5 million.
“I feel very excited and happy for the vendors, it’s been a long road and they’re finally able to move on. And the buyers, they are moving up to paradise,” she told OneRoof.
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“The buyers absolutely fell in love with it. They had been considering Piha for some time, and it was love at first sight.”
The sale settles in January, and she said the buyers were looking forward to the outdoor living.
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The sale closely follows the multi-million-dollar purchase of another Grand Designs alumni, the former Farmers’ tea rooms in Auckland’s Heritage Hotel on Hobson Street.
The Piha home appeared in the 2020 season of Grand Designs NZ. It was popularly dubbed the home that blew the budget.
Owners Susannah and Joseph Hardie told host Chris Moller that costs for the steel, concrete, and cedar house ballooned from the initial estimate of $1.3m to well over $2m.
That sum did not include the cost of the earthworks and landscaping, which hit pause for 18 months in the middle of filming before Moller and the crew returned for the grand reveal.
Records show the couple bought the site in 2013 for $708,000.
When the house first hit the market in 2022, with another agent, Susannah told OneRoof the couple were selling up to do another project.
The Piha Road's outdoor kitchen beside the pool and spa pool has an Argentinian flame cooker, a pizza dome, a smoker and grill, and beer on tap. Photo / Supplied
The steel and Brazilian slate kitchen cost $70,000. Photo / Supplied . Photo / Supplied
“We accomplished something really great. We’re really proud of what we’ve accomplished,” she said.
“We are looking forward to doing something all over again, and someone else loving this house as much as we do.”
The four-bedroom house was designed by architect Hamish Gunns and features dramatic floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors, lighting by German brand Flos, underfloor heating as well as a wood fireplace in the living room.
The house has high-performance windows, insulation, and ventilation systems, built-in speakers for sound, and is supplied by 50,000 litres of water tanks, with a new sewage and septic system.
The gourmet kitchen by designer brand IMO cost $70,000 and has Brazilian slate tiles, a butler’s pantry, three dishwashers, and a wine fridge, the owners said. Outside there’s an Argentinian barbecue, a wood-fired pizza dome and even beer on tap.
The couple, both of whom are musicians who enjoy entertaining, told OneRoof in 2022 that the in-ground infinity heated pool and spa, and an outdoor shower, had been a must to make the most of the spectacular views.
The penthouse apartment in the Heritage Hotel at Hobson Street, which featured in the same Grand Designs, sold for an undisclosed sum in September. Photo / Supplied
The agent for replica villa on 319E Wishart Road, Helensville, from the 2017 Grand Designs season is the former owner and builder. Photo / Supplied
“It was an investment, but we thought let’s invest in where we spend the most time,” Susannah said. “I notice every detail that’s gone in.”
Smith told OneRoof this week that not much had sold above CV in the Piha area since the January 2023 storm, and slips impacted buyer confidence.
She said she had had a regular procession of buyers looking at the house since she took over the listing in March.
“We had quite a lot of international interest. Several buyers came over from Australia to look at it. And a group of German real estate brokers who were out here looking for properties for high net worth clients planning to relocate. They were viewing multiple properties around the country.”
Buyers on the hunt for a Grand Designs home still have options.
A replica homestead which appeared in the 2017 season of the show is being marketed by the woman who built it
Kelly Davison, of Burmester Realty, shot to fame when she admitted on the show that she was disappointed with the five-bedroom house on 319E Wishart Road, in Auckland's Helensville, which she had built with husband Joe and their six children.
The new owners, who bought the huge property in 2018, are selling to downsize now they are empty-nesters but earlier told OneRoof the decision was “heart-wrenching”.
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