A grand Italianate stone mansion on one of Auckland’s wealthiest streets has been snapped up just over a month after it hit the market.
The 813sqm five-bedroom house on Paritai Drive, Orakei, sold last week through a tender, New Zealand Sotheby’s International Realty Paul Sissons told OneRoof.
Confidentiality agreements meant he could not disclose the price of the deal, which settles later this year, nor details of the number of tenders or the eventual buyers.
“It’s a great result. Nobody with less then $15m got to look at it,” Sissons told OneRoof.
Start your property search
“I can say that there’ll be some unhappy people who missed out, some very disappointed people.
“We did have very strong local interest and at least two people who flew in from overseas, plus a couple of Australians. The international reach [of NZ Sotheby’s International] worked for us. We had huge interest.”
Read more:
- Mystery buyer snaps up top two floors of Queenstown apartment block for $33m-plus
- Multi-million-dollar Waiheke winery Tantalus Estate withdrawn from sale after bids fall short
- King Charles III’s West Auckland mansion now gets a $5.2m-plus price tag
Sissons said that buyers at this price level were very particular about what they wanted, looking not just at value but that the house “ticks all the boxes”.
“This one did. People were looking at its size, its position and the view, and the fact that it was perfect,” he said.
The sweeping staircase in the lobby is a standout feature. Photo / Supplied
The stone work is by Hinuera Stone specialist Steve O'Connor. He worked on the house on-site for a year. Photo / Supplied
The five-bedroom house, which was bought in a private deal in 2009 for $10.5m, had never been on the open market since it was built in 2002.
It was designed by name architect Robert Railley, of Swan Railley Clapham, who worked closely with interior decorator, the late Linda Reid.
But central to the build, Sissons said, was the work by stonemason Steve O’Connor, of Hinuera Stone.
“This was more than a two-year build, and every detail is classic – the stone terraces, the architraves, the molding. Steve still comes back to maintain the house, it’s one of his most timeless jobs,” Sissons told OneRoof earlier.
The reception rooms are arranged around a striking two-storey lobby, with a circular staircase lit by a skylight. Flooring in marble, stone and mahogany and custom-bronzed steel French doors and windows are a feature of the house, with living and dining rooms opening to patios with views of the Waitematā Harbour, Rangitoto Island and the city.
The kitchen featured a brand-new Falcon cooker, Gaggenau steamer, double Miele dishwashers, Liebherr wine fridge, as well as Fisher & Paykel fridge-freezer and a coffee machine. The house included a scullery, an oak-panelled library and a second casual sitting room which both opened to the rear swimming pool.
The house boasts clear views of the Waitematā. Photo / Supplied
The kitchen is packed with luxury fittings. Photo / Supplied
Upstairs is the huge master suite (the bedroom alone is nearly 33sqm) while the basement floor has garaging for up to eight cars, a wine cellar, service rooms for the tech, a staff bathroom and gym.
The sale beats several other high-end listings that have been for sale for a while on Paritai Drive.
When a luxury modern four-bedroom home at 92 Paritai Drive first went on the market in mid-2023 the listing agent, Michael Boulgaris, expected it to sell for $30m. Graham Wall of Wall Real Estate is also listing the property.
A three-bedroom 918sqm house at the city end of Paritai Drive, commissioned by renowned art collector Dame Jenny Gibbs, has been on the market on and off since late 2022. NZ Sotheby’s agents Gavin Pollard and Klara Kozak have described the property, which boasts its own art gallery and art storage facilities and has a CV of $12.75m, as a “waterfront collectible”.
Paritai Drive is home to the property that still holds Auckland’s house price record, the mansion formerly owned by disgraced financier Mark Hotchin which sold in 2013 for $38.5m.
More recently, a renovated mid-century home next door fetched $20m when it sold in 2022, one of the most recent seven-figure sales on the street.
- Click here to find more properties for sale in Auckland
