- The Castle, a landmark Tauranga home, sold within five days after attracting 35 viewing groups.
- An accepted pre-auction offer cancelled the auction after buyers quickly embraced its unusual castle-style design.
- The undisclosed price exceeded its $1.61m valuation, while Tauranga properties averaged 51 days on-market.
Tauranga’s landmark castle – complete with a turret, drawbridge and circular peepholes – has sold within five days of hitting the market.
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The architecturally designed 1970s home on Maxwells Road, in Otūmoetai, attracted a swarm of buyers as soon as the listing went live last Thursday and was sold by the following Tuesday.
EVES agent Lauren McRae told OneRoof that 35 groups viewed the property, including the new owners who liked what they saw at the weekend and swiftly made an offer.
McRae said the buyers immediately fell in love with the design and character of the house.
The 1970s home was in a good location and had a timeless design that appealed to lovers of interesting architecture. Photo / Supplied
The property had been sympathetically modernised over time. Photo / Supplied
The wife, who was overseas at the time, spotted it online and so sent her husband to look at it on Saturday. They made a pre-auction offer four days later that was accepted, cancelling the planned auction.
“He was pretty determined.”
The current owners had lived there for 11 years, and their three children had grown up in the spacious four-bedroom, two-bathroom home dubbed The Castle.
“It was an amazing family home for them, especially given all the cool quirky spaces like the loft above the garage and the mezzanine bedroom accessed via a ladder,” McRae said.
They were ready for a change and were moving to the neighbouring suburb of Matua with a bigger house but smaller section, she said.
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The property was designed by Tauranga-based designer Greg Vindriis in the 1970s and drew on the New Zealand tradition forged by leading architects Sir Ian Athfield and Roger Walker.
McRae said the property was very well known in the area. Some people remembered going there as teenagers as it had been a popular hangout.
“Just loads of people came through [the open home]. It was pretty chaotic.”
McRae could not disclose the sale price until settlement, but confirmed it was well above the RV of $1.61m.
McRae said having a property sell in five days was quick in the current market given the average days on market for a property in Tauranga is 51 days.
While some Tauranga properties were still getting pre-auction activity and selling under the hammer, she said the Maxwells Road property was a “standout” in terms of the amount of interest, speed of sale and the result.
- Click here to find more properties for sale in Tauranga
