- A Waiheke Island beach house sold for over $8 million, with buyer interest surging.

- Agent Ollie Wall noted interest rates dropping, prompting buyers to act.

- High-end properties are hitting the market, with increased interest from investors and international buyers.

A palatial beach house on Waiheke Island sold last month for more than $8 million, OneRoof can reveal.

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Wall Real Estate agent Ollie Wall, who brokered the deal, said buyer interest on the island had exploded towards the end of the year.

“Buying a beach house had just stopped in 2024. It’s a discretionary buy, but all of a sudden the buyers came out of hibernation,” he said.

39 Delamore Drive, Waiheke Island, Auckland

The Delamore Drive property had been on the market since September. Photo / Supplied

39 Delamore Drive, Waiheke Island, Auckland

Another property at 209 Delamore Drive, designed by Strachan Group Architects, is now on the market looking for $9m. Photo / Supplied

“As interest rates began to drop, people started to think ahead instead of just sitting on their hands,” he said.

Wall declined to reveal the identity of his Delamore Drive buyer but did tell OneRoof they planned to make the nearly 4ha estate their permanent base. He added that the sale price was over the property’s CV of $8.3m (the top sale price for the island last year was $12m, which broadcasting legend John Hawkesby got for his five-bedroom home overlooking Church Bay).

The sale is one of several that went unconditional at the end of last year. OneRoof also understands that a beachfront pad in Oneroa also sold for more than $8m and that a neighbouring property fetched $7m.

Several top-end island properties also hit the market at the end of the year, including a 1.7ha estate at 209 Delamore Drive, which is also listed with Wall Real Estate.

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The four-bedroom home has a CV of $5.8m but Wall expects it to fetch more than $9m. The 300sqm house, which includes wood fires, a spa, and an infinity pool, was designed by the award-winning Strachan Group Architects.

“That layout with the great big lawn and the pool is really hard to find on Waiheke,” Wall said.

Another top-end home that hit the market at the end of last year is 89 Nick Johnstone Drive, in Oneroa. New Zealand Sotheby’s International Realty agent Pene Milne has billed the renovated five-bedroom house as a “21st Century Modern Masterpiece”.

It boasts panoramic views of Matiatia and back to the city and includes a library, an art gallery, two guest cottages, a pool, spa and lush landscaping. The property has a CV of $9.8m, which dates from before the renovations, but Milne expects it will sell for more.

39 Delamore Drive, Waiheke Island, Auckland

A modern house by Glamuzina Architects, and recently renovated, at 89 Nick Johnstone Drive, is expected to sell for more than its $9.8m CV. Photo / Supplied

39 Delamore Drive, Waiheke Island, Auckland

A house at 62 Park Point Drive, above Cable Bay, has a CV of $8m. Photo / Supplied

Tobias Roebuck-Ward, principal of Waiheke Homes, told OneRoof that he is getting interest from American buyers in a luxury four-bedroom property with a pool on resort-like grounds, at 62 Park Point Drive, above Cable Bay vineyards.

“A lot of inquiry comes through. But you just get two words - ‘Price guide’,” he said, adding that he’s shown the property to Australians as well as Aucklanders. The property has a CV of $8m, but he would not say where the price might land.

He said the lower end of the market had been quieter over the holiday period. “Usually we’re slammed with viewings, and have a heap of open homes. But this summer open home attendance was probably down by 50%,” Roebuck-Ward told OneRoof.

He noted that the buyers who were looking were genuine but cautious about committing until they were certain that interest rates would come down and stay down. “I don’t think the confidence is there yet.”

He did notice, however, an uptick in interest from investors. “Investors are back because they had seven-figure [sums] sitting on term deposits, but now their interest has gone down they’re looking for property. The yield is lower than the bank, but they’ve got capital gain coming on the other side as we all know we’ve hit the bottom.”

“It’s good to see those high [$7m to $8m] sales starting to kick along. Then buyers get the confidence that it’s just moving so they get fear of missing out a little bit.”

- Click here to find more properties for sale on Waiheke Island