The super-penthouse in New Zealand’s tallest apartment tower is to be split into three.
The two-storey apartment at the top of the Pacifica, in Auckland CBD, has been on the market now for almost four years, most recently with a price tag of $42.8 million, but so far has yet to sell.
In a surprise move, New Zealand Sotheby’s International Realty has re-launched their marketing campaign for the penthouse, advertising it as a “blank canvas”.
Buyers can either buy the entire 1219sqm or pick up one of three smaller apartments: a 630sqm two-level space; a 300sqm single-level apartment; or a 260sqm single-level apartment.
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The listing agent for the apartments, Pene Milne, says in the ad: "There is nothing like this anywhere in New Zealand … Bring your family, bring your architect, bring your imagination. The instructions are clear; this is to be sold."
Tenders for all four options close on March 23.
When it was launched in 2018, the Pacifica was the first apartment building in New Zealand to get an Overseas Investment Office transitional exemption certificate – meaning foreign investors could buy the apartments without OIO approval.
The 57-level tower was built by Melbourne-based luxury apartment developer Hengyi Pacific for a reported $300m. Construction finished at the end of 2020 with the first residents moving in in January last year.
The two-level super penthouse was initially marketed for $35 million, a record asking price for a New Zealand apartment, but that was raised last year to $42.8m for the architecturally designed fit-out.
Buyers also had the option of buying the warm shell for $36.8m with no fit-out.
The penthouse apartments will be split into a 630sqm two level apartment and two smaller 300sqm and 260 sqm apartments, all with stunning city and sea views. Photo / Michael Craig
Last year Milne told OneRoof that the new asking price – the highest for a New Zealand residential property - reflected the surge in Auckland housing market, and that the price per square metre was in line with other luxury residences in the city.
A sale at $42.8m would have broken New Zealand real estate records, eclipsing the $38.5m house price record set in 2014 by Graham Wall Real Estate for the sprawling Auckland mansion formerly owned by financier Mark Hotchin.
The Pacifica is one of the country most high-profile developments. The building is wrapped in distinctive glass panels pixelated to reflect the shimmering water of the nearby Waitemata Harbour.
Shared facilities include a swimming pool, spa/sauna, yoga studio and gym on level seven, and a library, cinema/media room and residents' lounge on level 25, with retail laneways at street level.
The tower set the apartment price record for 2020 when one of the nine sub-penthouses sold for $8m. Even the car parks have made the headlines. A parking space – albeit with an added annual $5200 charge for valet parking service – sold under the hammer last August for $288,000 to a Pacifica resident, breaking the previous record of $265,000 for a spot in the Quay Regency apartment building on Auckland's Quay Street.
However, the Pacifica is not the only Auckland apartment tower vying for glory. Seascape Apartments, which is being built by China-based developer Shundi in neighbouring Customs Street, is set to finish up with a height of 187 metres – nine metres higher than the Pacifica.
The Seascape’s 350sqm master penthouse has a price tag of $23m.
The two-level apartment can be fitted out by the buyer. Photo / Supplied
Pete Evans, Colliers head of residential development, said there were buyers out there who could afford the big prices, but they had specific demands.
“Apartments done years ago are not designed to that specification, people want today’s specifications,” he told OneRoof.
"You’ve got people who are selling up the family home for $20m, they’ve got a bach somewhere on Waiheke, or Queenstown or Wanaka, so spending $5m to $15m on a city apartment is a real option for them,” he said.
“These are Kiwis, as obviously with Covid, the international market is not as strong.”
He added: “But we’re still a long way behind Sydney. Their normal CBD apartments are now asking $30,000 to $50,000 per sqm while the top end, with stunning harbour or opera house views is double that.
“In very mature markets like Sydney, apartments are recognised as the top end product.”
Ray White's Ross Hawkins, who has sold top apartments around the city, said there was a limited market of people in New Zealand who would pay the big money for apartments.
The 57-floor Pacifica, at 178m is New Zealand's tallest residential tower. Photo / Michael Craig
"There's definitely more interest in the $8m to $11m range, but once you start pushing past that point people with that money are looking at a big house with land and the pool and the tennis court. This is not New York or London or Hong Kong,” he said.
"But who knows, when the world opens up to international buyers again, that might be a good test of how far apartments could go."
Auckland penthouse prices are still modest compared to international cities.
A buyer paid AU$140m (NZ$148m) for the three-storey penthouse in One Sydney Harbour towers in 2019 while a Manhattan penthouse on the 96th floor of 432 Park Avenue is asking S$169 million (NZ$254m) for a 767 sqm six-bedroom, five-bathroom apartment built in 2015.
A glitzy penthouse at One Hyde Park London listed last year is asking £175m (NZ$356m) while a penthouse apartment in Grosvenor Square sold for $284m million in late 2020.
