Horncastles’ Fendalton mansion sells for $8m
After six months on the market, a five-bedroom, five-bathroom home on Hagley Park’s doorstep has sold for $8 million - but just missed out on setting a real estate record.
Nestled on Wood Lane in the heart of Christchurch’s swankiest suburb of Fendalton, the deal for a home described as “reminiscent of a contemporary French villa” was done in the most quintessentially Kiwi way, in jeans and jandals.
The property belonged to building industry heavyweight Bill Horncastle – and was sold by his son, Charlie Horncastle, a sales consultant with Harcourts.
Horncastle said the late night deal was sealed when he, fellow agent Cameron Bailey and his parents were huddled around a phone at their new property.
Horncastle confirmed the short settlement $8m cash unconditional offer fell shy of the $9.75m asking price when it was agreed late last week, but said his parents had already bought another property and “just wanted to move on.”
He said the buyers are a Christchurch family and, following a nationwide marketing campaign, it was nice the house was staying in local hands, he said.
Six months was not a particularly long time on the market, he said, and time to sell was “different for every property”.
Despite Wood Lane being his family home, Horncastle said he took a “professional stance,” treating it like “any other listing”.
His sister’s wedding was held at Wood Lane at the start of this year, which was “a nice round off” to the family home, and his parents were ready to downsize and move on to somewhere “no kids can move back in,” Horncastle said.
Charlie Horncastle isn't the only son of one of the city's most recognisable home builders to get into the property industry – brother Matthew heads Christchurch property development firm Williams Corporation.
The 538m² Wood Lane home was originally listed for sale in October by deadline treaty, then changed to price by negotiation. It was later listed at a fixed price – $9.75m, the highest ever fixed-price listing for the city – which, had it been reached, would have broken records.
Instead, it has matched the record of $8m held by a property in Wairarapa Tce, Merivale, that was sold in 2021.
The Wood Lane home’s rateable value of August 2022 was $8.34m.
The historic site at the end of Wood Lane was once owned by the street's namesake, settler William Derisley Wood, but has undergone many alterations over the years.
Horncastle, wife Mrrietta and their five children moved into the home in 2010 after redesigning it with architect Tim Devine, based on two original 1890s rooms at the heart of the house. The new house sat on the original footprint, with the historic rooms preserved at its core.
Its “palatial ground-floor master suite” boasts sweeping garden views, a dressing room, en suite and day room or office, while the decor of the sitting room was inspired by “family travels to Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Antibes”. Other selling points highlighted in the home’s listing include “show-stopping chandeliers”, a billiard room, library, and underground wine cellar.
The “park-like grounds” over more than 3300m² encompassing an in-ground pool, tennis court and pizza oven are fringed by the Avon River, with views across to Mona Vale.
The price is left in the shade by some of last year’s top real estate numbers.
At $19.22m, the highest price paid in 2023 in the South Island was for a Queenstown home on 1.2 hectares of land on Hidden Bay Rd, Jacks Point.
But that was only the fourth highest price paid across the country during the year, behind three Auckland sales, with a Remuera house once owned by Kiwi sailor Grant Dalton taking the most expensive title at $23.8m.
Second dearest in the South Island, and fifth dearest in the country, was a house on Buchanan Rise, Glendhu Bay, Wanaka, for which a buyer paid $16m.