Super-penthouses are bigger and better than mere ordinary penthouses but while the wealthy in this elite market want ever more floor space, the real trend is for more compact penthouse apartments, says real estate agent Gavin Lloyd.
Lloyd, national director of residential projects at CBRE, is marketing the country’s soon-to-be-completed tallest residential tower, the 57-level, 178-metre-high Pacifica in downtown Auckland which features nine penthouses and one super penthouse.
Super penthouses, like the one which takes up the top two floors of the Pacifica and is on the market for around $40 million, are dotted around the world and the extra square metre-age they feature accommodates the likes of maid’s quarters and boardrooms.
The Pacifica’s 1200sq m super penthouse also has room for a luscious garden with big trees or an art gallery with sculptures as customers in this price bracket often collect art.
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The Pacifica is New Zealand’s tallest residential tower. The super penthouse is seeking a buyer who’s willing to pay around $40 million. Photo / Supplied
There are five bedrooms, including the separate maid or caretaker accommodation, and a big, separate butler’s pantry.
“I think it’s fair to say there’s growth in the size of those mega apartments and super penthouses but there’s really only a handful of them globally,” says Lloyd.
“It’s a bit hard to say it’s a strong trend. I think the stronger trend is probably the opposite. Better designed, more compact and better facilities and luxuries. The introduction of all of the amazing facilities and concierge-type experiences at the Pacifica, certainly that side of it is more of a trend.”
Trophy collection
Lloyd says changes to the Pacifica’s super penthouse floor plan were made following buyer feedback and knowledge of that particular market.
A void was cut into the slab to give a dramatic double-height ceiling space in the lounge on the north west corner, and a smaller void was created at the southern aspect to create the “sky garden” which has serious height and is high enough to take large trees.
“The other thing we introduced, because these people are often successful business people, is a boardroom so you could have work meetings there. It’s more than a study, it’s a boardroom.”
Super penthouses often have floor plans of 1000sqm or more and can be found at the top of skyscrapers in the cities like London, New York and Singapore.
An artist impression of inside One Sydney Harbour. The top three floors in the building sold for A$140 million. Photo / Supplied
Singaporean luxury magazine, The Peak, quotes Ismail Gafoor, the CEO of PropNex Realty, as saying super penthouses in that country are generally bought by ultra-high net worth foreigners.
“Investors buy penthouses as part of a trophy collection. It is more for social status and recognition.”
Different category of buyer
Lloyd says some of the smaller Pacifica penthouses have been bought by downsizers who don’t need three or four bedrooms any more. While the design of the apartments took the downsizer market into account, a decision was then made to tweak the floor plan of the super penthouse.
“We said you’ve got the super penthouse at the top of the building and that’s just a different category of buyer altogether and there we’ve effectively created a four-bedroom residence plus a separate maid’s quarters. But that’s seeking a buyer around the $40 million mark so that’s a special sort of scenario.”
While that price tag is huge by New Zealand standards, and would make it the most expensive home to sell in this country, it is dwarfed by similar-sized penthouses selling across the ditch and around the world – like the super penthouse which sold recently at One Sydney Harbour in Bangaroo for A$140 million (N$Z149 million).
Kiwi businessman and White House adviser Chris Liddell, who reportedly bought an apartment in The International development. Photo / Supplied
Other Sydney sales include a penthouse sold to casino mogul James Packer for $60 million and an earlier one to property developer John Boyd at the ANZ building which was around $70 million.
“They’re all huge but they’re kind of one-off scenarios,” says Lloyd. “They’re built for the really, really elite. I mean, strewth, A$140 million, we could use that to rebuild our economy right now.”
The Pacifica’s other penthouses are selling at $5 million, $6 million and $7 million and mainly to downsizers but not all: “We sold one to a buyer from Austria. He’s a billionaire who has also bought some forestry assets in New Zealand and he’s just applied for a residency.”
An artist impression of one of the apartments in The International in Auckland CBD. Photo / Supplied
Pete Evans, national director of residential projects at Colliers International, points out there is New Zealand wealth - and then there is overseas wealth. There just isn’t the same demand for the super penthouse here, he says.
The biggest sum he knows of for a New Zealand penthouse was the $15 million reportedly spent by Kiwi businessman and Trump adviser Chris Liddell for an apartment in The International in Auckland.
Space v affordability
While there have been some cases of units being knocked together to make extra large penthouses, the proof of the demand is in the selling, and most in this country have been on the market for a few years, Evans says.
“It’s not like they’ve been on the market for a couple of minutes and they all sell.”
The foreign buyer ban has had an impact on demand here. Because The Pacifica began prior to the policy change it has an exemption but soon there will be almost no projects that will have that exemption.
Suzie Wigglesworth, group manager of Bayleys Projects, agrees the ban has dampened demand and also says the main category of buyer is downsizers.
“Definitely, there’s an appetite for more floor space as people become more au fait with apartment living.”
But there’s a trade-off between size and what is affordable, she says. When a developer designs a huge penthouse the cost of delivering that is high compared to the cost people are prepared to pay.
“More often than not we’re now seeing developers produce penthouse apartments but at a smaller size so they can achieve a lower price point and, therefore, it’s more appealing to those who are downsizing.”
