A five-bedroom mansion next to the beach has broken this year’s sale price record, selling for more than $20 million.
The house on Argyle Street, in Auckland’s Herne Bay, was snapped up by a local buyer less than two weeks after it was put on the market.
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The sale price exceeds the $13.75 paid for a five-bedroom home by Auckland’s Takapuna beach in April, but still falls short of the all-time record of $38.5m for a mansion in Auckland’s Orakei.
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Wall Real Estate agent Ollie Wall, who brokered the deal for the Argyle Street property with his father Graham Wall, said: “It was a competitive process, with more than 10 qualified buyers showing interest, resulting in a handful of serious offers.”
While he couldn’t disclose the exact sale price, he said it sold for “well in excess of $20m”.
He added: “The hard part was letting down those that made offers [on the house] but didn’t get it. We made two calls of celebration [to the buyer and seller] followed by three of commiseration. So it was a little bitter sweet really.”
The house and grounds are one of the largest on the Herne Bay waterfront, at just under 2800sqm. Photo / Supplied
Wall said that the house was one of only four large-scale waterfront properties in Herne Bay, and the only one with access to the beach.
The house, which sits on nearly 2800sqm of land, last changed hands two years ago for $13.9m but was extensively rebuilt and renovated.
“It's completely gutted and refurbished, with all new landscaping," Wall told OneRoof two weeks ago.
The renovation included a full-size tennis court with a pavilion and gym and a swimming pool cantilevered over the water. Photo / Supplied
He estimated that the rebuild would have cost more than $5m, with the engineering on the new pool that cantilevers over the beach costing around $1m alone. The house has 2017 CV of $14m.
The property grounds were remodelled by renowned landscape designer Suzanne Turley to make room for a full-size black astro-turf tennis court, modern tennis pavilion, gym, infinity swimming pool, pool house and putting green.
Designers from Space Studio – known for their high-end restaurants, hotels and spas –re-worked the 1990s Alan Paul-designed shingle house to five-star hotel standards, a project which took 18 months.
The renovation added luxury hotel finishes such as oak floors, honed marble and brass touches. Photo / Supplied
Wall said: “People don’t want to spend time updating a house. They want quality, and they want it now.”
He added: “We know the [buyers] who can afford properties like this. Most people on our database are just lined up for Herne Bay waterfront. They say, ‘Call us as soon as something is available.’"
The Wall family know the suburb’s waterfront properties well, clinching the deal on a refurbished Marine Parade villa on 2688sqm for $23.5m last year, as well as $27.5m for a house on Cremorne Street in 2018, the record price that year.
They have also concluded a swag of luxury sales outside of Herne Bay in the last couple of months, including $13.5m for a five-bedroom traditional mansion in Remuera, and $12m for a modern pad in the same suburb.
Graham Wall, centre, and sons Ollie, left, and Andrew, right, sold New Zealand's most expensive house, pictured here, for $38.5m in 2013. Photo / Supplied
Wall said there was frustration in the luxury housing market, with so few high-calibre properties coming to market in Auckland.
Waterfront homes in Herne Bay rarely come to market, he said. “There’s only one a year. As soon as another one comes up for sale, this record will be broken.”
He added that the Argyle Street home had attracted seriously interest from a buyer in the US.
“They have property all over the world. If it wasn’t for the two-week quarantine, they would have flown straight down and likely brought it.”
