An Italian-style stone mansion on one of Auckland’s wealthiest streets is this year’s most expensive home buy, with a local family beating off international buyers by spending a whopping $21.84 million.
The 813sqm five-bedroom house on Paritai Drive, in Orakei, sold in March after just over a month on the market, but OneRoof can now reveal the details of the deal, including the fact it is 2024’s highest settled sale so far.
New Zealand Sotheby’s International Realty agent Paul Sissons, who marketed the property, told OneRoof the buyers had contacted him early on in the campaign.
“They had always admired the house and were pretty determined to buy it, as it ticked all their boxes. It was the right property at the right time,” he said.
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“It’s a delightful result for the owners who have treasured the place for the last 14 years. We were delighted at the response we got, both internationally and locally.”
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The $21.84m price, while the highest so far this year, isn’t a record for the suburb, though. That title still belongs to the former Hotchin mansion on the corner of Paritai Drive and Huriaro Place, which sold 11 years ago for $38.5m.
Sissons said the property had not been on the open market since it was built in 2002, with the outgoing owners paying $10.5m for it in a private deal in 2009.
He said his local buyers faced international competition, with interested parties flying into Auckland to check out the house. “We had three or four from Singapore, serious buyers. A couple were there specifically to see Paritai Drive, others were looking with us [Sotheby’s] in Auckland, Queenstown and Wanaka.”
The agent said there were serious buyers with more than $20m to spend still active in the market.
He is currently working with buyers on another big-ticket property, a five-bedroom mansion on a 3498sqm site on Remuera Road that was listed in April. It has a CV of $25m and sits next to Remuera’s most expensive house, a mansion that sold off-market for $29m at the end of 2021.
The local buyers of the Paritai Drive property had always admired the house and were quick to move on their dream home. Photo / Supplied
The sweeping staircase in the lobby is a standout feature of the house, which had not been on the open market since it was built in 2002. Photo / Supplied
“The Remuera Road estate is a bigger property. Whether it eclipses this sales record, we can wait and see,” he said.
“These things do take work, but it’s that international reach we’ve got.”
Ollie Wall, of Wall Real Estate, who has a $40m-plus listing in Herne Bay that may break the all-time record, said a beautiful house like the one sold on Paritai Drive had a “10 out of 10” view.
The sale showed there were high-end buyers in the market looking for beautifully finished homes in great locations. “There are plenty of top-end buyers, but they can afford to be a little more picky.”
Ray White agent Ross Hawkins, who is marketing a five-bedroom mansion on Pahoia Road, in the Western Bay of Plenty with an $18m-plus price tag, said vendors were adjusting their expectations in line with buyer feedback and current market conditions.
Buyers at the upper-end of the market also wanted to keep a low profile. “They don’t want to be seen splashing out when times are tough. It’s the same with people who are quietly selling, they don’t want people to know.”
NZ Sotheby's agent Paul Sissons is currently working with buyers interested in a mansion on Remuera Road that has a CV of $25m. Photo / Supplied
The immaculately renovated mansion on 27 Marine Parade is now looking to break records. Photo / Supplied
He added: “There are people quietly looking with that sort of money, but they’re very specific about and very private. Some are thinking it’s a good time to buy before the foreign buyers come in.”
Hawkins is waiting for Winston Peters to “play ball” and allow foreign buyers from further afield than Australia or Singapore to buy residential property in New Zealand.
“People in that bracket are waiting. If and when it happens there will be criteria about who they are and what they’re about. Like with the AML [Anti Money Laundering], we know who we’re dealing with and where the money comes from. The threshold will be more like $5m or $7m or $10m.”
Bayleys agent Gary Wallace, who sells in the $10m-plus bracket in Remuera and Orakei, said that the Paritai Drive sale showed that the money was there for the right property.
“The economy is a little bit tight and it’s having an impact, but if the shoe fits, they’ll buy it. When the market is perceived as being tight, that super high-end would rather travel under the radar. They say, ‘This is our position, if you come across anyone interested, let us know’.
“There’s always money, and people want to buy now because they think in a softer market there’s good buying to be had.”
Like Hawkins, Wallace said that if changes to the foreign buyer ban happen, it’ll be the higher-priced market that benefits.
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