- A five-bedroom mansion in St Heliers is for sale for $25m.
- The vendors renovated the home extensively, extending its footprint and modernising its design.
- A rooftop entertaining level, wine room and putting green anchor the design.
It’s one of the most expensive homes for sale in Auckland right now, and its origin story includes an angry night searching the internet and a burning desire to own Nana’s house.
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The impressive five-bedroom mansion at 3-5 Hanene Street, in Saint Heliers, is looking for a buyer with $25 million to spend.
The vendor bought the 1613sqm site overlooking Hauraki Gulf for $9m during the first Covid lockdown in 2020 after missing out on her grandparents’ house on the same street.
“I’d always wanted to live on Hanene Street. When I was younger, I was determined to make enough money to buy the house back,” she told OneRoof.
The vendors bought the 90s-era mansion in 2020 for $9m and rebuilt it inside and out. Photo / Supplied
The stunning property, which has never been lived in, boasts clear views of Auckland harbour. Photo / Supplied
However, she was pipped to the post twice, the second time when she was back in New Zealand during the pandemic. “I was really annoyed. So I was angry googling and found this house. It wasn’t Nana’s house, but it was amazing – actually, it was better than Nana’s.”
She snapped up 3-5 Hanene Street and, with her husband, got to work reimagining and rebuilding the sprawling estate, which was built in the 1990s by well-known architect Simon Carnachan.
They loved the three-level home’s Palm Springs vibe and modernist style, but after 30 years, it needed an overhaul.
They hired Michael Cooper, of MCooper Architects, for the redesign, and discovered he had worked with Carnachan on the original house when he was a graduate.
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“He walked in and said, ‘I know this house’. He had lots of insights about why people did certain things back then,” the vendor’s husband told OneRoof.
The couple were involved in every aspect of the build with Cooper and builder Michael Molloy, of Collab Build.
“They were nagged to within an inch of their life,” they laughed.
The footprint of the house was extended, with the couple turning a small pop-up at the top into a full roof-top entertainment space, but key to the property’s success, they said, was the comfort and accessibility of the living spaces.
The vendors added a rooftop entertainment space. Photo / Supplied
The vibrant gardens were created by landscape designer Deb Hardy. Photo / Supplied
“I just want to be able to live in a small, easily accessible house within a big house,” the husband said. So friends can gather for entertaining on the top floor, kids or family can be in the ground floor flat, and everyone can meet in the middle in the huge media room (there is a second TV room if the couple want to watch on their own).
“Calm, cosy, integrated: that’s how we wanted to feel. We love the view. When you walk in, you feel like you’re looking out like on an ocean liner,” the vendor told OneRoof.
In a nod to the famous parties thrown by the previous owner, the couple built a wine and whiskey room on the main floor.
Landscape designer Deb Hardy created a dry garden on the street side and updated the striking stone ponds and waterfalls that cascade down the hill and lead to a large putting green.
The wine and whiskey room is a highlight. Photo / Supplied
The couple estimated the project would be over in 18 months, but the build ended up taking three years. “It’s fair to say the [building cost] was double or triple what we thought it was going to be,” they said.
“The builder put in 35,000 man-hours, and that’s not counting the other trades. Every single wall has been upgraded, every bit of electrical came out. We pushed out a lot of boundaries, and there was so much steel. All the ceilings came off.
“They had to close off Tamaki Drive to crane in the large windows and door panels, which really upset the locals.”
The vendor created a self-contained apartment for her parents, but sadly, they died suddenly, within weeks of each other, at the end of 2024. She no longer had the heart to move into the house when it was finished in early 2025.
“I don’t want to live there without them. It just feels sad, because it was such a legacy home. The whole carpet was pulled out from under my feet, which is why it’s now on the market,” she said. “I find it really hard to go back there.”
Instead, the couple plan to take a break from their busy lives in real estate and live at their beach house while they train for their next adventure, a trek through Nepal.
Listing agent Brendan Goodwin, of UNIQ by Goodwins, said the property was attracting local and international interest. “[Overseas buyers] want to have this as their permanent New Zealand base,” he said.
- 3-5 Hanene Street, Saint Heliers, Auckland, is for sale by negotiation
