The street that time forgot
Amid a red-hot housing market, several character homes in one of Auckland’s oldest streets are on sale for the first time in decades. Bevan Hurley reports.
One of the grand old dames of Auckland property, Belmont, is a regular stop on Mt Albert Historical Society tours.
Built in 1882 of solid kauri, and shifted to its current site on the northern slope of Owairaka/ Mt Albert, it speaks to an old, moneyed Auckland, not prone to the shifting sands of a fluctuating property market.
In recent weeks, six real estate sales signs have sprung up from the manicured berms of the neighbouring Stilwell Rd and Summit Drive.
Four properties are for sale, the ink on two other sales is barely dry.
Over the road from Belmont, 12 Stilwell Rd is up for sale for the first time in more than 20 years.
Sue Leman’s parents bought the home when they returned to their childhood stomping ground of Mt Albert from the Hawke’s Bay.
Leman, in her 60s, has lived in a self-contained granny flat on the property taking care of her parents, but the time has come to sell.
She could scarcely recall any properties in the street changing hands in the 20-plus years her parents lived there.
‘‘It’s a fairly stable area. There are a lot of old families who have lived here forever.’’
The four-bedroom property was built in around 1910. Council property records were destroyed in a fire, so no-one’s exactly sure.
It’s heritage listed and protected from being torn down or changes to the exterior. Subdividing is not an option.
Leman says the best thing about living there is the wraparound views. ‘‘I can see right out to Point Chev, I can see the sea, I can see right round to the Chelsea sugar refinery. Upstairs you can see the Sky Tower, right around to One Tree Hill.’’
The property goes to auction on March 11, and Leman says judging by the turnouts at open homes, it will attract plenty of interest.
According to figures from Barfoot, the average sale price in Mt Albert for January was $991,073. The push towards apartments and terraced housing is likely to have brought the figure just below the million-dollar mark.
In this gilded corner of the Golden Triangle, a term given to the city-side of the north side of
the mountain wedged in by Mt Albert Rd, New North Rd and Alberton Ave, houses sell for much more.
Estimates on the homes.co.nz site show property values between $1.26 million and $4m. Most are well north of $2m.
Just down Stilwell Rd at 5C, a unit has just sold.
‘‘Do you know how much it sold for,’’ asks a young mum who is renting a unit in the same block.
She and her family love living in the street, but it’s unaffordable for them to buy there.
‘‘I think this area is overpriced. It’s not entry level affordable. It’s a place to buy if you have a property already.’’
Ray White real estate agent John Covich says there are another five character homes for sale within a few hundred metres of Stilwell Rd.
He said it was a coincidence that the cluster of homes came onto the market at the same time – many vendors were older couples or widowers looking to downsize.
It was one of Auckland’s oldest suburbs, and families tended to put down roots that spanned generations.
‘‘A lot of that is to do with schooling,’’ says Covich. Mt Albert Grammar School, with its famed alumni and excellence in sports and academics, was a major drawcard. ‘‘There’s a lot of people who went to MAGS and now their sons and daughters are going to MAGS as it’s now co-ed,’’ he says. Having grown up in West Auckland, Covich has put down roots of his own in the area. ‘‘It’s so central. there’s a lot on offer. I wouldn’t leave Mt Albert.’’