An “extraordinary” multi-million-dollar clifftop home with panoramic views over the Coromandel is the latest mansion to be sold in a mortgagee sale.
It comes as mortgage brokers warn more properties are likely to become the subject of forced sales as times get tough and frustrated lenders take action over defaulted loans.
The latest OneRoof-Valocity data shows the number of mortgagee sales is on the rise. There were 68 mortgagee sales for the first four-and-a-half months of 2024 compared to 50 for the same period last year.
The designer five-bedroom, six-bathroom home at 28 Radar Road, perched on a 14-hectare site overlooking the popular tourist hotspot Hot Water Beach, is one of these mortgagee properties and will be auctioned off next month.
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The expansive 600sqm-plus property, has an RV of $4.48 million, and, according to OneRoof records, last changed hands for $1.25m in 2014.
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The overseas owner borrowed from a private lender to buy the house, and it appears that private lender is now calling in the loan.
Harcourts listing agent Adam Fuller described it in his listing as “an extraordinary property, one many dream of, but very few will own”.
Fuller told OneRoof no expense had been spared from what he could see. "The property has been constructed using the finest of materials and the engineering throughout the design is no less than outstanding."
Award-winning architect Barry Copeland designed the home that was built in 2004 surrounded by native bush.
The “work of art kitchen” with stone benchtops, an infinity pool, white-washed timber ceilings, eight-car garaging and natural timber floors were among the highlights. There were also multiple outdoor living areas for its owners to soak up the sun, admire the jaw-dropping views while sheltering from the wind and even a potential helicopter landing pad.
The expansive property includes an infinity pool and multiple outdoor living areas. Photo / Supplied
The Barry Copeland-designed home boasts panoramic views over the popular tourist spot. Photo / Supplied
“The elevation ascends you to a very special place with breathtaking ocean views in all directions,” the listing added.
Fuller said the property could suit a range of buyers including active retirees, investors wanting to run it as a lodge or events venue or multiple families looking to share a large holiday home.
It comes as a Saint Heliers’ mansion that narrowly escaped being sold in a mortgagee sale at the end of last year was recently advertised with a new asking price of $4.795m.
Squirrel Mortgages founder and head of mortgages John Bolton said there had been an increase in mortgagee sales, but it was still not a large number.
“Where they are happening it’s invariably a result of business failure or a builder or developer with a failed project – that’s basically driving it.”
Owner-occupied homes were less likely to come up for mortgagee sale, he said, because banks were very reluctant to do mortgagee sales and worked hard to keep people in their houses.
It was more likely to come unstuck when a second-tier lender was involved because they were less worried about their reputation and it also signalled the borrower had run out of options.
Squirrel Mortgages founder John Bolton said private lenders tended to be less patient than the main banks. Photo / Supplied
“They are kind of your lenders of last resort. So when a non-bank lender runs out of patience, there’s nowhere else to go so that’s typically when you do run into that mortgagee process.”
Mortgage Managers mortgage adviser Stuart Wills said there had been an uplift in enquiry from clients trying to get out of a mortgagee sale.
He said those facing the biggest challenge were if they had bought a property in the last two years and might be in negative equity.
Wills said some banks tried to push for a mortgagee sale within a few months of the client defaulting, while others were more lenient.
“I’ve had other ones where the banks have been quite aggressive on it and said basically ‘you have to sell up or else we will mortgagee sell it on your behalf’.”
Wills expected to see more mortgagee sales later this year as the impact of people refixing at higher interest rates and the cost of living caught up with people.
“They find themselves in financial trouble, but it often takes a while for that to flow through for the bank to start doing something about it.”
Banks tended to take a tougher stance on beach properties or second properties than a home someone was living in where they would be more likely to give the owner some options to help resolve it, he said.
- 28 Radar Road, at Hot Water Beach, Thames-Coromandel, goes to auction on June 8
