US buyer creates $ 6m dream pad
New Yorker buys two Remuera apartments and combines them
A New York businessman who paid $ 6 million for a yet- to- be- built Remuera apartment has scrapped the original plans and decided to create his own dream pad over two levels.
The man, who plans to move to New Zealand this year, bought two apartments on different levels and redesigned them to form a sprawling 382sq m home.
The apartment, in the St Marks development in Remuera, will be the American family’s “city pad”. Their main home is a short commute from Auckland.
“They purchased apartments on two levels and have redesigned them to create bedrooms on the fifth floor and a guest wing and living area on the sixth,” said Bayleys agent Trent Quinton.
The dream pad has a high stud, floor- to- ceiling windows, German oak flooring and stunning views from the Coromandel ranges to the Sky Tower, with Rangitoto as a focal point.
Quinton said that despite the high sale price, multi- million- dollar apartments were becoming increasingly common.
“The sale price was pretty amazing but we are going to see more selling at that price,” Quinton said.
“Apartment living i s more accepted and developers are now building spacious home- like apartments rather than shoeboxes.”
The recent $ 6m sale is thought to be the second largest apartment sale this year.
In March, a 319sq m five- bedroom apartment on St Stephen’s Ave in Parnell sold for $ 8m, according to data from property valuation website Homes. co. nz.
At $ 6m, the price for the 382sq m Remuera apartment works out at $ 15,000 a square metre. At $ 8m the 319sq m Parnell apartment works out at $ 25,000 a square metre.
The record sale came as Prime Minister John Key urged Aucklanders struggling to get into their first home to look at apartments as an alternative
arlier this month the average house value in Auckland ticked over $ 1 million.
David Nagel from QV said that despite some big sales most apartments were in the price bracket of under $ 1m.
“With the risk involved in developments and cost of building, most developers will build apartments they know will sell easily so they can move on to the next project,” Nagel said.
“There have only been a couple of sales over . $ 5m in the past couple of years.”
But Jeremy O’Hanlon from Homes. co. nz said apartment living was starting to show good capital gains as it had a lot of appeal for overseas buyers used to apartment living.
“Auckland’s apartments offer internationally recognised convenience that Kiwis are a little blinded by, given their historic focus on the quarter- acre dream.”
O’Hanlon said data on the Homes. co. nz website showed Auckland apartment capital gains were in line with those for other properties in the past four years.
He said many apartments offered water views, which were hard to come by or extremely expensive in a traditional property.
The developer behind the $ 6m luxury pad is former Remuera breast surgeon Dr John Harman.
An accident left him unable to operate so he turned his hand to property developing.
Harman said the majority of purchasers were young professionals and downsizing baby boomers.
More than 80 per cent of the high- end apartments had sold.
Site works are advanced with approximately 80 per cent of the six- metre, two- level basement excavated already.
Completion is due in the first quarter of 2018.