The Remuera Road house that was bought by the owner of a neighbouring multi-million-dollar penthouse has been let out as a rental.
The four-bedroom 1940s home, which sits on a 2187sqm section off one of Auckland's wealthiest streets, was bought in February for $10 million.
Records seen by OneRoof show that the new owners of the house also own a top-floor apartment that looks directly over it.
The property has a 2021 CV of $9.4m – $9.1m of which is for the land, which is zoned for high-density terrace houses and apartments. OneRoof understands that the owner did not buy the property to develop it.
Start your property search
In July the house was advertised by Barfoot & Thompson as a rental, asking $1200 a week. Client confidentiality prevent the company from commenting on the listing, except to confirm that it was rented out at the beginning of August.
Read more:
- Retirees trade Northland beach house for $4m-plus Kohimarama dream home
- Spend $6m on a house and then bowl it: Buyers on the hunt for spectacular views
- Trophy rental home snapped up by offshore buyers after near-$1m facelift
The house was built by renowned New Zealand architect Horace Massey in 1945 as his own residence, and appears to still have some original features although the kitchen and bathrooms have been updated.
The two-storey house was advertised as having spectacular views of Rangitoto Island from the large formal kitchen and dining room, with three large bedrooms upstairs and a fourth downstairs, as well as a smaller room off the principal suite that could be used as a dressing room or nursery, plus two bathrooms.
The listing boasted a large family/rumpus area opening to a lower patio area and a large lawn with plenty of storage, plus a double carport. It pointed out that tree and hedge maintenance would be taken care of by the owner.
The view from the Remuera apartment building, taken by the New Zealand Herald in 2014, shows in the left-hand corner the house which sold in February for $10m. Photo / Brett Phibbs
The house was advertised as having extensive views of Rangitoto. Photo / Supplied
Records show that the penthouse apartment overlooking the property sold in 2014 for $5.75m – at the time, one of the highest prices for an apartment in the city – and now has a CV of $8.1m.
Ray White Remuera real estate agent Steve Koerber, who was not involved in the February sale nor had knowledge of the owners’ intentions, told OneRoof earlier this year he had dealt with buyers who had bought neighbouring properties specifically to protect their own views or privacy.
“They put height restrictions, covenants, on the title,” he said. “It’s not that common, but it does happen if they have the ability to afford it.”
Koerber said it was becoming more common for buyers to avoid areas that may get more apartments or townhouses.
“People are now hunting out places that will stay as a single house zone,” he said, adding that neighbours buying to protect their views or privacy from intensive development had created a second-tier market for properties with development zoning.
- Click here to find more properties for sale in Remuera
