An award-winning house next to he mansion Zuru billionaire Anna Mowbray is building with her fiancé, ex-All Black Ali Williams, has hit the market for sale.
The striking four-bedroom waterfront property, crowned Home of the Year in 2007, last sold for $8 million, in 2018, but price expectations this time around are almost double that.
Wall Real Estate agent Andrew Wall, who is marketing 34 Rawene Avenue, in Auckland's Westmere, with brother Ollie, told OneRoof: “It’s impossible to find anything with such architectural merit and absolute usable waterfront for less than $15m."
The house was built in 2005 by award-winning architecture firm Stevens Lawson for former Kiwi design guru Bret Gower, who sold it in 2018 to the current owners, who have carried out subtle upgrades.
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Wall said: “The owners have fine-tuned the property, so it is more Japanese and sculptural. They replanted the gardens completely.”
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Most of Westmere's big waterfront properties don't have beach access, but in 34 Rawene Avenue’s case, the flat lawn flows seamlessly to the sand. The property also has a private boat ramp.
The house itself has been profiled many times in design magazines. Various writers have praised its abstract sculptural form. The dark-stained house is barely noticeable from the street, with its garage door hidden into the timber siding and the front door obscured by trees trimmed into eye-catching Dr Seuss-style balls.
The owners added dark staining to the kitchen and new island. Photo / Supplied
The master bedroom boasts clear views of the harbour. Photo / Supplied
Wall said that the new owners had leaned into the dark timber look devised by the architects, installing a new kitchen island of blackened timber and steel, and deepening the stain on the timber ceilings that wrap it. They also opened up the lounge and improved the flow to the dining room.
The ground-floor bedrooms look into the courtyard greenery while the upstairs bedroom, with its dramatic dark walls and ceiling, opens onto the deck and boasts views of Auckland Harbour.
Wall said the house was in good company. “Ali [Williams] and Anna [Mowbray] spent $24m before building their Ponting-designed home, so there’s some context to the level of investment in brave architecture in the area.”
The property is a modern take on a traditional Kiwi bach and boasts a sunken outdoor lounge. Photo / Supplied
The pool overlooks the beach below. Photo / Supplied
Last July a five-bedroom renovated waterfront Westmere home sold for $9.5m and in October buyers paid $6.005m for an original tear-down cottage on an 898sqm waterfront site.
At the height of the post-Covid housing market, tech entrepreneur Sharon Hunter and former Tauranga mayor Tenby Powell sold their waterfront home on Rawene Avenue for $17.68m.
Wall said 34 Rawene Avenue still hints of old-school Kiwiana. “Things like the boat ramp with a fish cleaning station and smoker on a grass lawn on the water’s edge make for a real New Zealand lifestyle,” he said.
- 34 Rawene Avenue, in Westmere, Auckland, is for sale by way of tender, closing June 20
