Renowned breast surgeon-turned-property developer John Harman has sold his multi-million-dollar Kiwi bach.
Ray White agent Heather Walton declined to reveal the sale price but said it was “well over” the CV of $4.9 million.
The deal is not due to settle until next month and OneRoof understands from separate sources that the price is above $7m.
John Harman and his wife Karen Spires, a former top-selling real estate agent, decided to list the three-bedroom holiday home on Kokopu Street, in Omaha, after the last of their children had finally flown the nest.
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They bought the property more than a decade ago for just over $2m, with Spires telling OneRoof last month they had been looking for some time and didn’t waste any time making an offer after first seeing it.
“For two years we’d been renting different properties in Omaha to see where we liked,” Spires said. “The agent rang us and said, ‘I think we’ve got the house’. We walked in and stood on what I call the ‘magic spot’, looked at each other and said, ‘This is it’. We made an offer and bought it that night!”
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The couple had only just completed an overhaul of the bach. The project, overseen by architects Sumich Chaplin, stripped the house back to its concrete slab and created something new.
Walton told OneRoof interest in the property had been strong. “It’s a testament that people are happy to pay for a complete renovation, there were no unknowns. It had double glazing and the power efficiency was incredible because of the solar panels,” Walton said.
She said the new owners were passionate golfers who were new to Omaha. “The proximity to Te Arai is a big drawcard, as well as the local Omaha golf club. You can go up to Ricks [at Tara Iti] for lunch, it’s only 40 minutes away. A lot of golfers are turning their heads to Omaha because there are so many wonderful golf options up here,” she said.
Spires told OneRoof the couple were delighted with the outcome of the sale. “We are pleased that the home sold to another family who will love the house and the beach as much as we did.”
Walton said the sale highlighted growing confidence in the market, and tipped another of her Omaha listings, a four-bedroom property at 4 Lagoon Way, to fetch $5m-plus at auction next week.
Karen Spires and John Harman. The pair made an offer on the beach home just hours after seeing it. Photo / Fiona Goodall
The bach interiors have been stylishly dressed by Charlotte Sumich. Photo / Supplied
“It’s an amazing opportunity for someone to renovate and realise that money – especially when you see the neighbouring house went for $7.5m.”
She also suggested that there could be a $10m sale in the beach town by the end of the year, with one of her off-market listings in that price bracket.
At the other end of the Omaha market, there were seven cash buyers fighting over a “family focused non-pretentious beach house” last week as Auckland families were out in force looking for their summer getaway.
The auction for the four-bedroom, three-bathroom Patiki Place property opened at $2.5m, it was announced on the market at $2.9m and eventually sold under the hammer for $3.085m after 31 bids.
Bayleys listing agent Victoria Turner said it was a great auction especially with seven of the 10 buyers who turned up to watch the auction cash unconditional and ready to buy on the day.
The sale price was also 15% above its RV, which Turner said was around the average. “We’ve seen some sell below CV, but most above.”
A four-bedroom beachfront bach at 4 Lagoon Way, in Omaha, goes to auction on November 28. Photo / Supplied
Turner said the property, which the owners earlier told OneRoof they had designed to be family-focused and not pretentious, had attracted a lot of “curiosity and interest” due to being different to what was usually found in Omaha.
The living area has skylights and glass louvred windows and features a bespoke Flox floral mural running along the upper-level bridge. There’s also a cute dining nook the owners’ daughters used as their crafting station.
“It’s a unique design and style. Essentially designed as a family beach house, but with some quite clever and unique design features,” Turner said.
Turner said there had been a definite uptick in sales in the last month and she had personally sold five properties in 10 days. This included a three-bedroom, two-bathroom home on Rita Way, a four-bedroom, two-bathroom bach on Twilight Bay, and a bare section on Omaha Drive that was sold off market in the last 10 days. It was a significant amount given there had been 43 sales in the beach town so far this year.
A four-bedroom bach on Patiki Place sold under the hammer for $3.085m after 31 bids. Photo / Supplied
“That’s the strongest volume I’ve seen all year for me personally,” she said.
“There’s definitely plenty of buyers looking for quality properties in a position to buy.”
The Rita Way property didn’t even make it to Wednesday’s auction after the owners decided to take an acceptable offer ahead of time.
Turner said most of the buyers including the people who bought the Patiki Place home were Auckland families looking for a holiday home for summer.
She put the rise in buyers ready to pounce down to the fact there was more optimism in market and because of the time of the year when people were thinking about getting away for summer.
“It’s that general feeling that people want to move forward. Most people we are dealing with are families from Auckland – and the accessibility to be able to come up to Omaha and commute back and forward – it’s just so easy. So I think it’s a combination of factors. It’s the motorway, it’s a little bit more confidence in the economy and market, the light at the end of the tunnel and there’s a bit of a seasonality aspect around it too. It’s just that time of the year.”
Turner said while there had been interest in the entry-level and high-end properties, they were now also seeing more activity in the mid-$2m to mid-$3m price range.
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* Additional reporting by Nikki Preston
