- A Herne Bay home sold for $9.4 million, the highest non-waterfront price in 2025.
- Local buyers outbid international competition for the four-bedroom Cremorne Street property.
- Agents report increased international interest, with more high-value properties being shown over Christmas.
A trophy home one block back from the water in Auckland's Herne Bay has been sold for over $9 million, as agents prepare to show jet-setting buyers the best Auckland has to offer over the Christmas break.
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Local buyers snapped up the modern four-bedroom house on Cremorne Street in October, fending off overseas competition, OneRoof can reveal.
They paid $9.4m for the property - more than $1m above RV. Data shows it's the highest recorded price for a non-waterfront home in the suburb in 2025.
The eight-year-old house, designed by architecture firm Hoxha Bailey, boasts a distinctive cantilevered roof, a 20m pool, a floating staircase, a wine room and a rooftop terrace off the master bedroom.
The modern Cremorne Street house, designed by Hoxha Bailey, wrapped around a 20m pool. Photo / Supplied
The two-storey house featured a roof-top terrace off the master suite. Photo / Supplied
The entrance has a movable screen, which reveals the car collection when peeled back. Photo / Supplied
The entrance featured a sliding shutter over a window into the three-car garage, so owners could admire their auto collection.
The deal was brokered by New Zealand Sotheby's International Realty agents Patrick McAteer and Suzanne Browne, who also sold a luxuriously renovated Arts and Crafts-style house on nearby Marine Parade for $9.366m in November.
“It was bought for $8.9m in July 2021, which was the peak of the market. The price was above what the vendors paid for it. That is quite extraordinary,” Browne said of the Marine Parade house. “They were not expecting that.”
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The agents said half of the buyers looking at Marine Parade were international, including a Swiss-based buyer who would have needed Overseas Investment Office approval. In the end, the house was sold to a newly resident family from Hong Kong.
“There are some very good, qualified New Zealand resident purchasers in the market, as well as obviously qualified internationals, including expats who are living overseas,” McAteer said.
Over the holiday period, the pair are showing properties to a couple of buyers who have flown in from Los Angeles. On the wish list for international buyers is a stylishly renovated five-bedroom villa at 27 Sentinel Road, which is looking for over $10m (Browne said the $6.75m CV is too low) and some other places that do not officially hit the market until the new year looking for $12m.
McAteer and Browne recently sold this 1920s character estate on Marine Parade for $9.366m in November. Photo / Supplied
27 Sentinel Road is another Herne Bay trophy home looking for a buyer. Photo / Supplied
“One is in Parnell; one is in Herne Bay, that we’re quietly showing to our VIPs,” she said.
One of the trophy homes on their books for their international customers is 95-97 Sarsfield Street, a waterfront mansion that is one of the city's standout properties.
McAteer said local buyers had noted the uptick in competition from overseas buyers. “Some very well-qualified New Zealand buyers have indicated to us that they are going to accelerate their plan to purchase based on the fact that there is likely to be higher interest coming out of the international market,” he said.
95-97 Sarsfield Street, in Auckland's Herne Bay, is on the market, looking for an international buyer. Photo / Supplied
A relocated heritage villa at 130 Omaha Flats Road, in Matakana, is up for grabs. Photo / Supplied
International interest has extended beyond the city to a meticulously renovated five-bedroom house at 130 Omaha Flats Road, in Matakana.
They have buyers eyeing the property for a hotel or boutique accommodation, which qualifies as an investment for holders of the Active Investor Plus visa.
“We know from our international affiliates that the focus on New Zealand is growing. It is a credible place to buy your second or third property. That is coming from consistent messaging from the Government.”
Browne said that right now the pair could sell “several more” Herne Bay properties in the $6m to $8m price range, even up to 12m, if they had the stock. The agents are racing to get five new homes on the market for the new year.
“We’re still working with people who missed out on Cremorne and Marine; some have budgets of more than $10m,” she said. “Some have sold. They are cash buyers and waiting until something comes up.”
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