- The Kiwi mansion once rented by Jason Statham was sold as part of a $56m deal.
- The Rawene Avenue property was bought for over $20m by a businessman.
- Bayleys agents Sarah Liu and Nick Gilbert facilitated the high-stakes deal in three weeks.
The Kiwi mansion once rented by Hollywood action star Jason Statham has been sold as part of a real estate deal worth more than $50 million.
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Statham stayed in the luxury waterfront pad with his partner Rosie Huntington Whiteley while shooting the shark blockbuster The Meg in Auckland in 2016.
The house on Rawene Avenue, in Westmere, is one of New Zealand’s most striking properties and was snapped up last month by a rich-lister businessman for more than $20m. He had just sold his impressive home on Ronaki Road, in Mission Bay, to the Rawene Avenue vendors for an equally significant sum.
Jason Statham and his partner Rosie Huntington Whiteley. They rented the Rawene Avenue home during an extended stay in Auckland. Photo / Getty Images
The Rawene Avenue property sold last month for more than $20m. Photo / Supplied
Bayleys agents Sarah Liu and Nick Gilbert brought the parties together and worked out the details of the high-stakes deal in just three weeks. They revealed that the total value of the deals was $56m.
Liu told OneRoof she knew the owners of Rawene Avenue well. She sold the house to them in 2020 for $17.68m and knew they were looking to buy again.
“I was having lunch with one of the owners, and they told me they were thinking of buying another property – if the property checked out.”
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Gilbert knew Liu's vendors and had a property he thought was a perfect fit. He approached Liu with the idea. She agreed the home was a winner, and put it to her vendors. “I know what their taste is – they’re very tasteful people – and they loved it,” she said.
The five-bedroom mansion was created by renowned architect Lawrence Sumich, with the interiors and landscaping handled by award-winning designers Andi Wheeler and Suzanne Turley respectively. The main residence, which unfolds over a long narrow site overlooking the harbour, is regarded as one of Auckland’s finest.
Liu told OneRoof the couple decided to buy the Ronaki Road home after their second visit. “I said, ‘OK, if you buy this, you can sell your Rawene Avenue home’, and they said yes.”
The owners of Rawene Avenue property bought this impressive home on Ronaki Road, in Auckland’s Mission Bay. Photo / Simon Devitt
The Ronaki Road home was designed by architect Lawrence Sumich. Photo / Simon Devitt
Gilbert thought his vendor might like to buy Rawene Avenue and put the idea to him. “He went to have a look, and he liked it,” Liu said.
The four-bedroom trophy home on Rawene Avenue was built by rich-lister Sharon Hunter and former Tauranga mayor Tenby Powell. The pair had secured two side-by-side sections on the tightly held street and then briefed Ponting Fitzgerald Architects to create a luxury house on the 1978sqm site.
Ponds that start at the front of the house connect all the way to the sea, weaving inside and outside the house, finishing at the 17m infinity pool that hovers over the water.
Ponting used concrete cast in rough cedar for the walls, fine steel joinery for the windows, and crafted cedar for the ceilings and finishes.
Gilbert said his client had come in “with teams of people, the architects and the original builder. He’s going to enhance it”.
He said the deal was the result of a chance meeting he had with his client in February. “I’ve known him a long time but hadn’t seen him for a while when I ran into him in a cafe in Herne Bay.
“I mentioned another property I’d just listed in Herne Bay, and he said, ‘Oh, I’ve been looking at moving over this way’.” That property wasn’t quite right but Rawene Avenue ticked all the boxes.
“He believes it will be one of the nicest properties in the country once he’s finished with it.”
The deal follows a rush of big sales at the top end of the market. Last month, another Sumich-designed mansion on Ronaki Road sold for more than $20m within two weeks of hitting the market, while the Herne Bay marvel created by rich-lister property developer Kurt Gibbons sold for an undisclosed sum.
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