- Arney Road estate sells for $43m, setting Auckland’s residential sale record.
- The deal exceeded its $34m RV, surpassing the city’s previous $38.5m record.
- The vendor bought the estate for $6.75m in 2000 after earning his fortune in Silicon Valley.
A Kiwi entrepreneur who made his money in Silicon Valley has sold his sprawling estate on Auckland’s Arney Road for $43 million – $9m above RV.
Start your property search
The deal for the prestige Remuera property was closed a year ago, but the sale price has only just been released.
OneRoof first broke news of the deal in September last year and understands that the sale, brokered by Bayleys' Edward Pack, took place off-market in May 2025.
OneRoof can also disclose that the vendor, Graeme Fraser, bought a three-bedroom apartment in neighbouring Orakei in February this year for close to $12m.
The $43m Arney Road sale to BH Corporate is Auckland’s highest, surpassing the $38.5m Chinese businessman Stone Shi paid in 2013 for the mansion built by failed financier Mark Hotchin on Paritai Drive.
The Arney Road vendor bought a three-bedroom luxury apartment in Auckland’s Orakei for $11.6m. Photo / Supplied
However, it’s almost three million off the nationwide house price record of $45.5m, set by Queenstown’s Chantecler estate in 2023.
The Arney Road house was bought by Fraser in 2000 for $6.75m. The New Zealand Herald reported at the time that he was a New Zealander who had been working in the computer industry in California.
Fraser has in the past been linked affectionately to the “Cisco mafia”, referring to his time as VP of the major American technology conglomerate.
OneRoof reached out to Fraser, but he had not responded at the time of publication. Pack and Bayleys declined to comment.
Discover more:
- Who bought Southland’s mystery mansion? Foreign buyer deal leaves locals guessing
- Historic home built by rugby legend sells for $1.4m, agent says $2m RV 'out of whack'
- Iconic South Island mill sold 'as is where is' after demolition drama and liquidation
The 1ha-plus property, the largest on Arney Road, overlooks the harbour and boasts a nearly 1000sqm house with five bedrooms and garaging for four cars as well as a tennis court and swimming pool. The lavishly landscaped grounds are arranged in Balinese-style pavilions and gardens.
The estate, formerly known as Woodville, was once owned by Hugh Wright, founder of the menswear chain. The Wright family renovated the main Victorian house, built in the 1850s, replaced the stables with a modern garage, and upgraded a cottage for staff accommodation.
The property was also briefly owned by entrepreneur Diane Foreman and her late husband Bill Foreman.
The couple bought the estate in 1998 for $6.5m with the intention of building a retirement village there, but after neighbourhood objections, they sold up in 2000.
Former owner Diane Foreman sold the Arney Road property in 2000 for $6.75m. Photo / Nick Reed
The original house at the Arney Road estate was relocated and replaced with a modern mansion. Photo / Supplied
Chantecler, in Queenstown, is still the country’s most expensive house, selling for $45.5m in 2023. Photo / James Allan
The original house was relocated to South Head, Kaipara, in the mid-2000s and replaced with the current mansion.
The luxury Orakei apartment Fraser bought in February is one of six architecturally designed homes in the boutique 22 Karori Crescent development.
OneRoof understands that parties associated with Fraser’s Arney Road buyer own another prominent Remuera estate, a mansion on Victoria Avenue, which they bought three years ago for $23.8m.
The classically-styled Victoria Avenue mansion, a 937sqm five-bedroom house on 3234sqm estate with two pools, a tennis court and a professional basketball set up, was sold by prominent financier Martyn Reesby and his wife Jacqui.
Bayleys Remuera agent Gary Wallace, who was not involved in the $43m Arney Road sale, told OneRoof that it was a “great vote of confidence in quality New Zealand property”.
“To see a property of that stature has made that sort of money, it is just fantastic.”
Wallace said that globally, New Zealand property has been undervalued, but a sale of this calibre is a “100% vote of confidence.”
He said that, with the largest group of Active Investor Plus visa applicants coming from the US, there are high-net-worth individuals who could spend $40m or more on property.
“If they see value in property that’s special in New Zealand, they’re prepared to put their hand up.”
A three-bedroom house by architect Julian Guthrie on Remuera’s Martin Avenue sold in June for $8.95m. Photo / Supplied
A stylishly renovated five-bedroom bungalow, also on Martin Avenue, sold this year for around $10m. Photo / Supplied
Wallace and his team, wife Vicki and son Andrew, have closed several high-profile deals in Remuera, including to AIP visa holders.
He just settled three big sales in the suburb, all for around $10m each.
He told OneRoof that vendors and agents at the upper end of the market had to be patient this year.
“You've got some people who are looking but haven’t sold,” Wallace told OneRoof. “Once you have got the interest from genuine parties, then you have to get an understanding of their circumstances. Sometimes it is like trying to fit the square peg into the round hole.”
The exceptions are notable. In April, the Wallaces sold a house by sought-after architect Julian Guthrie on Martin Avenue for just under $9m within six weeks. “If I had another one of those, I could have sold it three times over,” Wallace said. “Julian brings people in; there’s a lot to love.”
A five-bedroom home a few doors away sold in mid-June for around $10m. The property is known as the Black and White house for its moody black additions by Studio John Irving to a traditional white bungalow.
“The buyers were cashed up, they were ready, and they were quite discerning.”
“There have been nine properties in Remuera this year that have sold above $6m, and we have sold six of them. Our top sale this year was Victoria Avenue for $10.5m and another on Lammermoor Drive [in St Heliers] for $10.25m.”
- Click here to find more properties for sale in Remuera
