- A West Auckland bungalow, known for hosting prominent artists, sold within three days of first open home.

- The house on Willerton Avenue, New Lynn, sold for around $1.05 million after receiving multiple offers.

- Previous owners Rona Ngāhuia Osborne and Dan Mace restored the home, creating an inspiring artist space.

A West Auckland bungalow that’s hosted some of the biggest names in New Zealand’s contemporary art scene sold within three days of the first open home.

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The buyers saw the three-bedroom house on Willerton Avenue, New Lynn, at the first weekend of open homes and put in an offer the following Tuesday.

Ray White listing Lynn Lacy-Huack told OneRoof the deal went unconditional just before Christmas, and that the sale price was “within the appraisal range” of $1.05 million.

54 Willerton Avenue, New Lynn, Auckland

A double studio, built by the previous owners, has housed many artists and was the big draw of the house. Photo / Supplied

54 Willerton Avenue, New Lynn, Auckland

The current owners had added antique fixtures and lighting to the house. Photo / Supplied

“We actually had multiple offers after that first weekend. Generally, you see the best buyers at the beginning,” she said, adding that 15 buyers had looked at the house at the first open home.

“It’s a very interesting, stylish house, and we had calls from people from [Auckland's inner-city suburbs]. People from the greater Ponsonby area will buy in the west if the right property comes along.”

The bungalow is a hotspot for Auckland artists and has even been used by a Vogue fashion photographer.

The previous owners, Auckland artists Rona Ngāhuia Osborne and Dan Mace, bought the house in 2003 for just under $300,000 and restored it to its former glory before selling it to artist Gareth Price and his wife, Trisha Cassidy, in 2015 for $825,000.

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In a happy "Auckland-is-a-small-town" twist, Price and Cassidy told OneRoof that one of the buyers was the brother of their friend.

"It did sell fast! There was a lot of interest," they said. “It’s sweet but sad. There's lots of letting go but it's nice to know it's going to a lovely couple who will treasure it as we have.”

Cassidy and Price told OneRoof back n December that they had felt a kinship with the previous owners.

“They had poured so much wairua into the property, we connected with them. We’d have so many conversations so it didn’t feel like we were buying from them," Cassidy said.

In turn, they opened one of the studios to a roster of artist friends, including photographer Thian Benton Fieulaine, whose work included shooting backstage at Paris Fashion Week and features in Photo Vogue, Condé Nast’s global creative network.

Price used the studio to paint his hyper-realist detailed painted canvases, which take up to six months to complete.

Cassidy, meanwhile, filled the bungalow with her collection of European antiques, which she called “a confusion of beauty”.

She replaced the modern island in the striking black kitchen with an antique French shop counter (from an antique shop in Bulls), used another antique dresser for the bathroom vanity, and brought in vintage industrial lights and chandeliers, most of which will stay. The house sported vintage metal gates and hundreds of native trees to create a Titirangi-type vibe.

The couple sold the property to downsize to a “cute little romantic cottage” in inner-city Auckland.

“The nature here, it really brought out a lot of stuff for me. And having a purpose-built studio - you just feel electrified, it’s a very inspiring space,” Price told OneRoof in December.

“It’s peaceful, grounded space,” added Cassidy. “I feel so much joy in this place, it’s quite hard to leave.”

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