13 February 2008
MEDIA RELEASE
Whenuapai Recent Residential Auction puts Heat on Nationwide Property Slowdown
The recent nationwide residential property slow down must have by-passed the slopes of the Upper Waitemata Harbour if a
recent sale is any example.
A historic turn-of-the-century Whenuapai waterfront showpiece was sold earlier this month for close to $3 million by
Harveys Massey agents Katherine Binning and Kim Robinson.
The four bedroom property set on 8855m2 (2.2 acres) which slopes down to the water’s edge has a 2007 capital valuation
of $2 million. The auction attended by 150 people, opened at $2.3 million and sold to the highest bidder on the day, a
West Harbour resident, for $2.82 million.” The price is believed to be a record for properties of this type in the area.
Katherine and Kim say they put a lot of effort into marketing the property and their extensive marketing campaign
sparked interest from the United States, Australia, Wellington, Waikato and all throughout Auckland. More than 100
potential buyers viewed the property.
The large two level homestead has an original shell dating back to the late 19th Century, much of it Rimu and heart
Kauri. Extensions, all keeping with the original structure, were made in the 1930s and 1980s. Classic features include a
claw bath, antique chandeliers and an authentic coal range.
Kim says the challenge was to find a buyer fond of both the land and the house, given its age. “Some of the houses down
that strip are huge modern homes,” he says. Considering the homestead was one of the oldest available on the water
front, the buyer would “really have to like that style,” says Kim.
Located on the waterfront with clear easy-water access, the home has a driveway that stretches past the house straight
to a private boat ramp. “The value of the land certainly lifted the property,” says Kim. “Some buyers even talked of
bulldozing the house and buying it for the land,” he says. “That would have been a tragedy.”
The historic home is set on mostly flat land that has meticulously maintained landscaped gardens and well kept lawns
that gently slope down to the waters edge. Directly across the harbour is the entrance to Paremoremo Creek.
The purchasers, a family, plan to keep the house and extend it over time.
Harveys CEO Ross Hunter says the positive outcome “confirms our view that a good property in a good position will sell
for a good price no matter what the market says.”
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