The recent sale of a high-profile home in Christchurch has sparked rumours that it could be a record-breaker for the South Island city.
The impressive home on Whitewash Head Road, Scarborough, which belonged to prominent Christchurch property developer Philip Carter, had been eyeing $8 million-plus when it hit the market in February.
It was snapped up at the end of last month for an undisclosed price to a local family.
Listing agent Alison Aitken, from Harcourts, declined to comment on the sale, but speculation is rife in the real estate community that the striking four-bedroom property has topped the city’s price record.
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Agents and industry experts spoken to by OneRoof had heard that the price exceeded the current $8m residential record, which is jointly held by two properties.
However, none of them had seen any documentation around the sale, and Aitken separately told other media that the price would become public within a few months.
OneRoof also reached out to Carter for a comment but had yet to hear back.
The property, which is almost sculptured into the cliff-face and is dubbed The Rocks, was sold by deadline treaty within five weeks of being listed for sale. It had an RV of $4.54m.
Carter bought the property off-market in 2012. The previous owner had commissioned architect Stephen Fitzgerald to design the home but Carter enlisted Andrew Watson, of AW Architects, to carry out an extensive refurbishment, which included adding more living spaces and bedrooms and putting in a gym and steam room. The lighting was also upgraded and state of the art technology including a C-Bus system installed.
“The Rocks is a strikingly different house, designed to be viewed as a piece of art for the community around it. It is a landmark, naturally beautiful with a style and quality all of its own. There is no other like it and possibly never will be again,” Aitken said in her marketing.
The property has been extensively upgraded since it was built. Photo / Supplied
The views from the home are impressive. Photo / Supplied
The sale comes a week after Mrrietta and Bill Horncastle, formerly of Horncastle Homes, sold their Wood Lane home for $8m, placing it on par with another as the most expensive home in the city at the time of the sale. It joined a property on Wairarapa Terrace, in Merivale, which sold in an off-market deal in 2021.
Along with the impressive Wood Lane sale last month there were also two others above $7m.
OneRoof understands one was a builder’s own home on Clifford Avenue, in Fendalton, and the other was a private sale in Christchurch’s CBD.
Aitken confirmed to OneRoof she had also sold the Clifford Avenue property.
Bayleys salesperson Adam Heazlewood said he had seen a lift in the number of high-end properties hitting the market in Christchurch.
He noted that the number of $4m-plus sales in the city last year was in the low single digits, whereas so far this year he had sold two properties – one on Wroxton Terrace and a penthouse apartment at The Oxford on Oxford Terrace – for more than $4m.
“This year is going to have a lot more high-end activity, but ultimately the people that are buying these homes always had the money, but they clearly have more confidence and are willing to make decisions which is great as that typically trickles down the market.”
Heazlewood said having so many sales above $7m was “new territory” for Christchurch. “There have been sales at that level in the past, but there seems to be more now than ever.”
Record-holder: This mansion on Wood Lane, in Fendalton, Christchurch, sold last month for $8m. Photo / Supplied
While several of the recent high sales had been bought by Christchurch locals, Heazlewood said he was seeing a mix of interest from people already living in the city and out-of-towners.
Harcourts Gold salesperson Cameron Bailey, who sold the Wood Lane property last month, told OneRoof last week that the recent $7m-plus sales showed there were still wealthy buyers out there looking for high-end homes, and many were locals.
Agents are reporting plenty of action in other segments of the Canterbury market with Tony Jenkins, managing director of Harcourts Holmwood, noting a 58% clearance rate at a recent auction. “That’s a very good day for us. Out of 29 properties three were brought forward, sold prior to the auction, and we sold 14 under the hammer with multiple bidding.”
Others would be wrapped up in coming days with strong buyer activity across the board, he said. “It’s not a sellers’ market but it’s not a buyers’ market either. It’s what we call a balanced market. When we say balanced, it’s not swinging either way. It’s a fair market to both buyer and seller.”
First-home buyers were out and about, motivated by a small downward tweak to interest rates meaning they could see light at the end of the tunnel, he said.
Investors, too, were out looking given the looming tax deductibility changes in their favour.
Jenkins said listings were strong and the Canterbury market was in good shape.
Rachel Dovey, general manager for Bayleys Canterbury, also reported that investors were stirring.
Bayleys agent Adam Heazlewood: "“This year is going to have a lot more high-end activity." Photo / Kai Schwoerer
She said listings improved in January and auction rooms had been busy since.
“I guess the question is are the buyers going to be there long-term, but we are still seeing quite a lot of shift in movement to the South Island from the North Island so we've got quite a mix of buyers.
“I think overall it’s been a reasonably positive start to the year and quite good feeling.”
Interest deductibility changes were due and the reduction of the bright-line test back to two years was spurring investors, with first-home buyers trying to get into the market ahead of them.
“We’ve seen investors looking to sell properties to buy other properties so on the whole I think that’s given some little sparks, if you like, within the property market and industry.”
Some buyers were “pure traders” who would pay the tax but others locked into the long bright-line test had been motivated to look at realigning their portfolios, she said.
The rental market was strong, with days on the market for rentals sitting at around 16, and there were quality tenants around with university going well and the stadium being built.
Gill Knight, director of Whittle Knight, said January saw a surge of activity from first-home buyers which had since settled.
He put this down to the Reserve Bank not increasing the OCR.
The rumour had been that interest rates could come down mid-year which could have led to a surge of sales and price increases so first-home buyers earlier in the year thought they should get on with it and get into the market before prices went up again.
But with the Reserve Bank holding the line possibly into 2025, first-home buyers were now thinking ‘okay, now we’ve got a few more months to work things through quietly’.”
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