- Around a dozen buyers with $9m budgets viewed the historic villa at 112 Victoria Avenue.
- The five-bedroom house in Remuera, Auckland, is move-in ready and was fully renovated by the vendors.
- The owners are selling to make their beach house north of Auckland their permanent home.
Around a dozen buyers with $9 million to spend turned up to look at 112 Victoria Avenue in its first week on the open market in more than 20 years.
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Barfoot & Thompson listing agent Leila MacDonald told OneRoof only qualified buyers had turned up to inspect the historic villa in Auckland’s Remuera.
The house, which sits on a 1200sqm section, has an RV of $8.9m and was purchased by the vendors, a high-profile business couple, in 2002 for $3.5m.
“It’s an incredible grand family home. You could have it with little ones, or with teenagers until they leave home," MacDonald said. “People with $9m budgets are looking around seriously.”
MacDonald said some of the people who came to look at 112 Victoria Avenue had been on the hunt for a suitable home for over a year. One had looked at five houses in the past two months, but 112 Victoria Avenue was the only one she had liked.
The five-bedroom house is on the market for the first time in 23 years. It has an RV of $8.9m. Photo / Supplied
The upper floor bedrooms have views of Mount Hobson and Auckland CBD. Photo / Supplied
“Buyers are very specific about what they want. A lot of people are looking for character homes because they are timeless. There is a lot of stock out there, but a lot of it is not for them.”
MacDonald said the appeal of her listing was that it was move-in ready: nothing needed to be upgraded or fixed.
The vendors, who did not wish to be named, said it had been an ideal house for a growing family. “This wasn’t the first house we saw, but this one ticked all the boxes: lovely location, nice decent-sized section, nice privacy,” one of the vendors told OneRoof.
But with the nest now empty, the vendors have decided to make their beach house north of Auckland their permanent home and sell 112 Victoria Avenue. “It is a lovely big house with lots of rooms that are just not necessary now,” one of them said.
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He told OneRoof that they had carried out a full renovation of the building – gutting the kitchen, the living and family rooms and three bathrooms, adding more insulation, a new electrical system and a new roof – soon after buying it.
The kitchen was re-done in period style, with an island bar that resembles a piece of furniture. It has a sunroom roof opening to generous porches, while the dining room has three walls of glass, conservatory-style, that are open to views of the garden.
“The terrace was ideal as the kids grew up and became large teenagers. There was plenty of room for them to spread out and all have an area where they could go and be themselves,” the vendor said.
“It’s nice and sheltered from most directions, so it gets used for a large part of the year. The house is a lovely, airy house.”
The house was ideal for a family with four teenagers. Photo / Supplied
The kitchen was renovated in a style to suit the period of the house. Photo / Supplied
The roomy section is tucked down a right-of-way, with mature terraced gardens making the property completely private. Hedges, formal planting and stone walls create separate rooms in the garden
“It was a great place to live while I was working very hard, long hours. It was a great home to come home to.”
The five-bedroom house, split across three levels, has two living areas, a formal dining room and a study on the main floor, with four bedrooms and two bathrooms on the upper floor. These rooms also get views of the city and Mount Hobson.
“It’s been a lovely place, it has done everything we wanted it to do. It’s time for us to move on, so it’s better with a family and more people using it. It would be a shame to have two people rattling around.”
- 112 Victoria Avenue, Remuera, Auckland, goes to auction on March 11
