A former convent on one of Auckland’s most desirable streets has been sold for $10.7 million.
The 2819sqm property at 74 Victoria Avenue, in Remuera, was snapped up by a developer after strong interest from a clutch of wealthy buyers.
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The listing agent, Barfoot & Thompson’s Leila Macdonald, said that she had received three sizeable offers for the property - one of the last big plots of available land in the city’s sought-after double grammar zone.
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“It attracted a lot of interest from both developers and people looking to build a single family home. It is the last big piece of land on the market at the moment here,” she told OneRoof.
While Macdonald was unable disclose the buyer’s details or what they plan to do with the property, she said it was zoned single house, which means it can’t be turned into a high-density development.
She said there huge demand for high-value real estate in Auckland. “There’s a real shortage of properties. I have three to four families with budgets of $9-$25 million looking for homes in the area.”
The property, which has a 2017 CV of $8.8 million, had been owned by the Sisters of St Joseph of Cluny since 1948 and started life as a novitiate but later expanded to include a kindergarten and a junior school, with the Bishop of Auckland, Bishop Patrick Dunn, one of the first kindergarten pupils there.
The property boasts 2819sqm in the heart of double grammar zone. Photo / Supplied
“The kindy closed at the end of last year and the house itself is not very suitable for older sisters,” said one of the residents, Sister Francis Kelly. “It is a lovely old house and it is sad to see it sold, but I can see the necessity from a practical point of view.”
She said some of the sisters are going to Tauranga, the headquarters of the province, to a place with special facilities, and two are going to Mangere.
The demand for land in central Auckland has resulted in big sales. The site of the former Caughey-Preston rest home in nearby Upland Road, was bought by a developer last year for a large undisclosed sum. The CV for the 10,000sqm property was $100 million - $72 million of which was for the land – and unlike 74 Victoria Avenue it was zoned mixed housing suburban.
Currently, only one other large piece of land is available in double grammar zone - a 2258sqm piece of land at 71 Watling Street, in Epsom, which is also zoned mixed housing suburban.
Barfoot & Thompson agent Wayne Guo, who is marketing the property with Adele Deng, said that interest had been solely from developers and investors who were expecting to pay $7 million to $8 million.
“This is not for families – there’s too much land. It takes developers 12 months to do the consents, but in the meantime they can rent the brick and tile home for $1200 a week,” he said.
