A landmark villa in Auckland’s Onehunga has hit the market for sale for the first time in more than 30 years.
Beavan House, a historic homestead with its own turret and clear views of Manukau Harbour, is the sort of property that could easily fetch $5 million-plus if it were located in Remuera or Herne Bay.
Bayleys agent Jack Davies, who is taking 75 Arthur Street to auction on September 4, said the sale was a “once-in-a-generation opportunity”.
“It’s not like the oldest house in the suburb but it’s absolutely a landmark. Everybody knows it and wants to have a look,” he told OneRoof.
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“Some people have lived in the suburb all their lives and looked up at that house and never been inside so it’s a unique opportunity when something like that comes to the market.”
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He added: “When you are up that turret you can spin around 360 [degrees] and look in all sorts of different locations. It would probably have the best views in the suburb.”
The turret and villa were built in 1908 by local solicitor Charles Schnaeur and was passed onto his son Captain Arnold Schnauer, who operated boats in the harbour. He named it Beavan House after his wife, Mary Beavan.
Current owners Mary and David Baker purchased the home in 1993 for $325,000. They told OneRoof it had always attracted a lot of interest.
“Lots of people stop and look and now there’s a for sale sign out the front there’s even more people stopping and looking,” Mary said.
The large 436sqm home boasts five bedrooms, three bathrooms and four lounges. Photo / Supplied
It was also how they came across the property, she said. They had accompanied her brother-in-law to an open home in the area and decided to also pop into the open home at Beavan House, which the Owen family was selling after 25 years.
As soon as they set foot in the house, their plan of extending their existing Greenlane home so it was big enough to raise their three children changed.
“We just went in and that was it, we just wanted to buy it.
“We hastily sold our other house because we didn’t want to miss out.”
Baker said it had been a great family home and the venue for several memorable parties including their children’s 21sts and one of their daughter’s wedding. They had even held a party for the house itself to celebrate its 100th birthday in 2008.
An early black-and-white photo of the house shows the house looks near identical to when it was first built with the only difference being that the turret had been removed from the tower at some point during the last century.
Baker said retaining the character of the home had been important to them. They commissioned someone to recreate some of the intricate fretwork on the house’s exterior so it matched. The exterior of the house had also been recently painted with neighbours noticing the scaffolding around the home.
The tower on the third floor has breathtaking views of Manukau Harbour. Photo / Supplied
The same went for inside with the original stained-glass windows, ornate ceilings and kauri timber are still impressive features of the home. Baker said even when they modernised the home such as putting in a new kitchen, they made sure it was done sympathetically.
“We’ve just been chipping away at it.”
But while the couple had loved living there, it was now time to downsize from the five-bedroom, three-bathroom home with four living rooms and large 1439sqm site.
“We are quite a bit sad to sell, but it’s time for someone else to take over the care of it and make the most of everything it has to offer.
“How many houses have a turret? And it’s such a good view up there and it can never be built out. Nobody can ever take the view from the turret.”
The property, which has an CV of $3.9m, is being sold at a Bayleys auction next month.
Davies said it was difficult to put a price on the historic villa because there was nothing really to compare it to in Onehunga.
“It’s really heading into unchartered territory with sales and prices,” he said.
“People that might have been looking more Remuera direction might see there’s now a stunning home in Onehunga that they are not going to have to pay $6m for.”
The most expensive property to sell in Onehunga was a four-bedroom, two-bathroom home on Tawa Road that sold for $4.56m in April 2021 and a development site on Trafalgar Road that sold for $4.381m in November the same year, according to OneRoof-Valocity data.
An 1860s home on a 3176sqm section on Symonds Street, in Onehunga, which has an RV of $6.55m, was listed for sale in 2022. It was later withdrawn from the market without selling.
Valocity senior research analyst Wayne Shum said the same property in inner-city suburbs such as Westmere or Point Chevalier would have much higher price tags.
“For the same section size, same quality house and outlook, you will be looking for a lot more money.
“Onehunga is a good alternative. You are still quite close to the city. You are quite close to all the amenities; you are quite close to the motorway so there’s plenty of selling points.”
It was also relatively rare to find such large sections on the city fringe as many had been bowled to make way for apartments and townhouses, he added.
- 75 Arthur Street, in Onehunga, Auckland, goes to auction on September 4
