A Kiwi homeowner who took part in the reality TV contest NZ’s Hottest Home Baker might find himself whipping up his next epic cake – a replica of his lifestyle property – sooner than he thought.
Ben Baxter, who was a competitor in the show’s third series in 2012, sold his Whatawhata home under the hammer on Friday for $1.76 million in a brought-forward auction within two weeks of it being listed for sale.
The hobby baker, who created a name for himself baking epic cakes to scale, told OneRoof last week that he would even make a replica cake of the Glenwood Grove home for the new owner in what will likely be his last bake-off in his dream kitchen.
A huge crowd turned up to look at the impressive home at Sunday’s open home after some had read in OneRoof about why he built his dream kitchen.
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The next day the couple received a pre-auction offer that was good enough to bring the auction forward to Friday afternoon. There were two interested parties in Lodge’s auction room, but no one else bid so it was announced on the market and sold for $1.76m.
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Baxter told OneRoof after the auction that they had not been expecting it to sell so soon because the actual auction wasn’t due until early September.
“With the market at the moment – you just don’t know.”
However, he and his partner Katy were happy the property had sold because they had already purchased their next family home in Hamilton City.
“We are happy it sold so quickly and it pretty much sold for what we thought it was worth which was good.”
They were also relieved to not have any more open homes.
Baxter was very particular about the design and spent about $75,000 on it, which included $10,000 on hinges on cupboards to conceal a bench and sink. Photo / Supplied
The four-bedroom, two-bathroom lifestyle property on a 5037sqm section was completed in 2020. Photo / Supplied
He said it was easy to get a “bit blasé about where you live” so it was nice to be reminded through the positive feedback received at the open homes.
The couple attended the auction and had even met and congratulated the new owners who were also present at the auction afterward.
The purchasers declined to talk to OneRoof, but Lodge salesperson Megan Smith said they were a Waikato couple who had been looking for a home with the X-factor.
Smith said the couple was “ecstatic” they had won the auction and moving into the Glenwood Grove home.
Most of the interested parties were professionals looking for a lifestyle and executive-style residence, she said.
Smith earlier told OneRoof the lifestyle property had the “sexiest” kitchen she had ever seen, but said people viewing it had loved both the kitchen and how warm and light the living area were. They also loved the “extraordinary views” of the seven mountains, which she said was rare.
“People were saying we saw it online and we loved the look of it,” she said.
Smith said she found herself standing in the kitchen during the open homes demonstrating all its features and how the $10,000 recessed hinges had helped create what was effectively a second kitchen hidden behind the doors.
“There was standing room only on Sunday. That was a very, very busy open home and that was our last open home.”
Baxter designed the home with his partner Katy in 2020 and said one of the priorities had been creating the “perfect kitchen”.
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