New Zealand's single most valuable home. Photo / Brett Phibbs
They're our finest homes, collectively worth nearly half a billion dollars. Here is this country's most exclusive collection of residential properties, listed in order of current estimated valuation, the ultimate mansion list.
All 20 are in Auckland in a tight collection of blue-ribbon suburbs and many have featured in the news over some years as their prices stunned observers and delighted agents and vendors.
Many are clifftop waterfront sites, some land holdings are up to 2ha, most places have swimming pools, some have their own guest cottages or even gatehouses and many come with fine wine cellars.
Nick Goodall of CoreLogic compiled this list, providing precise details about the properties most of us will never see as visitors or guests, let alone live in. He provided the latest Auckland Council CV, done in July 2017, owner details, floor and land areas.
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Five places are in Remuera, three in Epsom, three in Herne Bay, two in Takapuna and the rest are in Orakei, Glendowie, the Shore's Hauraki, St Heliers and Parnell.
They are owned by Richlisters, heiresses, property developers and investors, migrants from Asia, financiers, business tycoons and, in two mysterious cases, lawyers.
Two are owned by Her Majesty The Queen: Auckland's Government House appears towards the start of the list with one title estimated to be worth $31 million and at the end of the list with a neighbouring title estimated to be worth a further $19m.
Curiously, not a single one is outside Auckland: no Queenstown mansions threaten the Queen City's status as holding New Zealand's most extravagant homes.
In a nod to the estates of Britain or France, some places have names: Herne Bay has its tropical Waimanu, Remuera its stately historic Fairholm, Epsom the florid Florence Court and Hauraki its sweeping majestic Chateau de La Sur Mer.
The list appears in order of Auckland Council's current valuation or CV. We've chosen not to identify numerical street addresses for security reasons.
Goodall said: "Like any market, there's always a significant upper end. You might have thought some Queenstown properties could be on the list but this shows Auckland is the only truly international city in New Zealand."
Auckland Council is due to conduct revaluations this year, so CVs could rise.
"These places could then be worth a lot more," Goodall said. "The trouble is the market for them is so limited and there are so few comparable sales that it makes them very hard to value."
OneRoof editor Owen Vaughan says: "Auckland's prestige housing market has much to offer and this has been reflected in the record sale prices seen over the past decade. While the coronavirus may change the dynamics of the market in the short-term, past economic crunches show that activity will bounce back.
"For cashed up buyers there are opportunities to secure a home at the top-end of the market - they'll have the benefit of low interest rates and the experience of those who bought during the last period of uncertainty."
Goodall noted the two Government House properties, worth a combined $50m, had not appeared on lists like this before "because many other lists are of sales but this list is based on CVs, so it's different".
Nineteen of the 20 owners banked substantial cash on their purchases – the difference between what they paid and the current CVs. Simon and Paula Herbert are the only buyers to pay more than their current CV: they paid $27.5m for a place with a CV of just $22.5m but Goodall said that could change under this year's revaluations.
Current estimated value: $46m
Where: Orakei
Owner: Stone Shi
Last sale date: July 2013
Last sale price: $38.5m
Land area: 4322sq m
Land value: $21.5m
Building floor area: 2568sq m
Immigrant businessman Stone Shi set a national record seven years ago for this multi-section site seven-bedroom property with its modernist split-level Sumich Chaplin-designed home overlooking the Orakei Basin and city. He bought via agent Graham Wall from interests connected to ex-Hanover man Mark Hotchin. Shi, the founder and chairman of Oravida Group, specialises in exporting meat, wines, seafood, fruit and dairy products to China. Wall said the sale price was actually $39m.
Current estimated value: $40m
Where: Glendowie
Owner: Graeme Hart
Last sale date: November 7, 1995
Last sale price: $2m
Land area: 2ha
Land value: $33m
Building floor area: 734sq m
For 25 years, New Zealand's richest man Graeme Hart - with a fortunate estimated by the NBR at about $10b - has owned the 2ha bastion with its grand home on a rise overlooking the Hauraki Gulf. Features include grand staircases down to the gardens, three-level banquet hall sporting a domed glass atrium, its own swimming pool and a wine cellar. He and wife Robyn bought the land in 1995 for just $2m, showing the vision that has propelled them to the forefront of business in Australasia. They built the house over a number of years. A guest at a charity event there last year said a commercial kitchen beneath the ballroom easily served 150 people.
Government House, Auckland
Current estimated value: $29m
Where: Epsom
Owner: The Crown
Last sale date: -
Last sale price: -
Land area: 2.1ha
Land value: $19.8m
Building floor area: 1379sq m
The secondary residence of Governor-General Dame Patsy Reedy in Epsom is an impressive tree-lined estate with sweeping lawns, a grand 1920s house. Sir Frank and Lady Mappin bought the property in 1921 and spent the next 45 years developing and landscaping the grounds. They gave it to the Queen in 1962 as a royal or vice-regal residence. The house is much smaller than Wellington's Government House because it was originally just a family home. It is used for many official functions, including welcomes for visiting heads of state, for state lunches and dinners, garden receptions, investitures and award ceremonies.
Current estimated value: $31m
Where: Takapuna
Owner: Lichin Gao
Last sale date: July 2017
Last sale price: $28.8m
Land area: 4396sq m
Land value: $19.8m
Building floor area: 1125sq m
This Tuscan-style clifftop home in a half-H layout and with its own gatehouse was developed by Sky TV founder Craig Heatley, then sold to Mark Stewart, son of Dame Adrienne Stewart and the late industrialist and manufacturer Sir Robertson Stewart. Three years ago, Asian businessman Lichun Gao bought it, and had extensive work done on the place, flanked by huge pohutukawa trees and protected by an ornate iron gate. One of the workers said Gao was friends with the neighbours and it was while he was there he spotted the house he later bought for $28.8m.
Current estimated value: $25m
Where: Remuera
Owners: Lynette Erceg, Darryl Gregory, Catherine Quinn
Last sale date: August 2011
Last sale price: $11.2m
Land area: half a hectare
Land value: $19m
Building floor area: 844sq m
This prominent and substantial north-facing brick home on its huge site sits at an intersection in its tree-lined street, making a statement in the neighbourhood. Lynette Erceg is the widow of Michael Erceg, who died tragically in a helicopter crash. He founded Independent Liquor, estimated to be worth around $620m. The Ercegs have been estimated by NBR to have a $1.8b fortune. Family member Matt Pringle is understood to live at the home, bought for nearly $12m. But a property expert said millions more were spent on the renovation "which was a complete rebuild".
Estimated value: $25m
Owners: Ben Cook, Knight Coldicutt Trustees
Where: Herne Bay
Last sale date: October, 2015
Last sale price: $24m
Land area: 4032sq m
Land value: $18.5m
Building floor area: 828sq m
Surgeon John Dunn and his wife Rose bought this almost half-hectare clifftop property, surrounded by water on three sides, when it was just an unoccupied concrete shell of a derelict building for many years. They built a new home, sold to developer Ben Cook of Cook Property in 2015. Cook is on the NBR Rich List with an estimated $150m. Helicopter pad, three-level minimalist home with breath-taking views from floor-to-ceiling glass, six bedrooms, separate two-bedroom apartment, beach access and home movie theatre are some of the features. Wall was the agent brokering the deal between the Dunns and Cook.
Estimated value: $25m
Owners: Prospect Private Custodians
Where: Herne Bay
Last sale date: September 2010
Last sale price: $3m
Land area: 3865sq m
Land value: $19m
Building floor area: 692sq m
Arts patron and property investor Adrian Burr lives at this grand modernist waterfront home, with its own helicopter pad, pool overlooking the waterfront and multi-levels down a private right-of-way. In 2006, the highly private businessman featured in the Herald as owning properties with associates valued at more than $1b, including Auckland's Viaduct land, forestry, parking and residential investments. But he told of how he was changing his lifestyle, charging the emotional balance sheet. He is on the NBR Rich List with an estimated $550m.
Estimated value: $24.5mm
Owners: Stephen Charles Allen, Donella Melven & Donella Melven Terese Parker, Shortland Trustees
Where: Remuera
Last sale date: May, 2007
Last sale price: $12.1m
Land area: 5109sq m
Land value: $21.5m
Building floor area: 444sq m
Just a minute's stroll down the hill from the Remuera shops, the blue wooden arts-and-craft style home with its oak panelling and stained glass windows sits in park-like surroundings of more than a half-hectare, with mature phoenix palms and many different tree species. The place with a street-fronting four-car garage and infinity pool has been listed for two years.
Estimated value: $24.5m
Owner: Graeme Bruce Fraser
Where: Remuera
Last sale date: August 1996
Last sale price: $6.5m
Land area: 1.2ha
Land value: $19.5m
Building floor area: 976sq m
This huge site of more than a hectare is in one of the suburb's best streets has increased in value by nearly 300 per cent since the owner bought it 24 years ago. Fraser has been reported to be a New Zealander who worked in the computer industry in California.
Estimated value: $23.9m
Owners: Carmel Miringa Fisher, Hugh Gladstone Fisher
Where: Hauraki, North Shore
Last sale date: April 2016
Last sale price: $22m
Land area: 4022sq m
Land value: $16.1m
Building floor area: 1172sq m
Chateau de La Sur Mer had been advertised for $35m when Carmel and Hugh Fisher bought the place, estimated to be more than eight times the size of most Kiwi homes and overlooking the Waitemata. They appear on the NBR Rich List with around $90m. The property was marketed as "arguably the finest private residence in New Zealand", featuring a swimming pool and cabana, imported chandeliers, marble bathrooms, Swedish solar heating, five bedrooms, nine bathrooms and garaging for eight vehicles. It was sold by Cameron and Tracey Gregory of Metro Performance Glass. Carmel Fisher founded Fisher Funds.
Estimated value: $23m
Owners: Grant Lawrence Helsby, Gary Rodney Lane
Where: Herne Bay
Last sale date: unavailable
Last sale price: unavailable
Land area: 4229sq m
Land value: $15m
Building floor area: 860sq m
Waimanu is the hotel-sized private home of low-profile businessman Gary Lane. It has sub-tropical-style landscaping, a bridge over a private river running through the centre of the grounds, behind high walls and with a central swimming pool. In 2006, Lane sold his food company Hansells and health products maker Healtheries. He bought 11 Herne Bay properties from the Sultan of Brunei around 2005 for a reported $35m. Lane is on the NBR Rich List with an estimated $335m.
Estimated value: $23m
Owners: Michael John Reid, Pauline Mary Reid
Where: St Heliers
Last sale date: unavailable
Last sale price: unavailable
Land area: 3614sq m
Land value: $18m
Building floor area: 1119sq m
This huge home on its prominent site was finished around 2009, having been designed by Sumich Chaplin. Michael Reid is a financier reported to have sold Marac to Pyne Gould Corp for $41 in 2000 but now of United Pacific Corporation or UPC of the Viaduct Harbour. An infinity pool, three-level Mediterranean-style home, several living areas, billiards room, three fireplaces, gym, wine cellar and lift are features of the home. Reid is on the NBR Rich List with an estimated $210m.
Estimated value: $22.5m
Owners: Paula Mary Herbert, Simon Edwin Herbert
Where: Herne Bay
Last sale date: March 2018
Last sale price: $27.5m
Land area: 281sq m
Land value: $15m
Building floor area: 1075sq m
Marina investors Simon and Paula Herbert set a record in 2018 when they bought the concrete waterfront home designed by Brent Hulena. The place with its own boatshed, helicopter pad and beachfront access was sold by Stephen Lockwood of insurance business Crombie Lockwood, along with Lewis Thomas Grant. NBR estimates the Herberts have a $70m fortune. Wall sold the Herberts' Remuera house and sold this home to the couple too.
Estimated value: $22m
Owners: Weimei or Wendy Wu
Where: Remuera
Last sale date: May 2010
Last sale price: $15m
Land area: 4036sq m
Land value: $16.5m
Building floor area: 815sq m
The peaked Fairholm, described as a grand old lady of Remuera, was built in the late 1800s and was once owned by Christine and the late John Fernyhough, who famously shifted it 8m to get the best harbour views. Chinese multi-millionaire Wendy Weimei Wu made headlines a decade ago when she bought the home, then Slipper Island off the Coromandel Coast.
Estimated value: $21.7m
Owners: David Anthony Hughes
Where: Takapuna
Last sale date: December 2000
Last sale price: $8.3m
Land area: 5214sq m
Land value: $20m
Building floor area: 346sq m
This renovated villa on a half-hectare of beachfront land was once part of the girls' school and set a national record when it sold for $8.3 million over the internet in December 2000 to 34-year-old Aucklander David Hughes, who made a fortune in the United States computer industry. The four-bedroom home was sold by Oenone Bidwill, former wife of multimillionaire Auckland entrepreneur and investor Charles Bidwill, and sister of John Spencer, for many years this country's richest man.
Estimated value: $19.5m
Owners: Peter Hanbury Masfen, Rolf Hanbury Masfen
Where: Parnell
Last sale date: unavailable
Last sale price: unavailable
Land area: 2600sq m
Land value: $13.2m
Building floor area: 587sq m
Serious big-time property investor Rolf Masfen built a new four-bedroom home here four years ago after three properties and two houses were merged and cleared. A tennis court, large stone retaining wall and design by Richard Naish feature at the place, not far from ex-Prime Minister Sir John Key. Rolf is the son of Peter Masfen of Corporate Investments. Masfen Group's holdings include the Eastridge shopping centre in Mission Bay, commercial and retail holdings including land leased to the La Cigalle markets in Parnell and farms. Peter Masfen is estimated to have a $600m fortune.
Estimated value: $19.5m
Owners: John Sax, wife Elma and family, via Oman Holdings
Where: Epsom
Last sale date: March 1997
Last sale price: $5.4m
Land area: 5035sq m
Land value: $16.5m
Building floor area: 803sq m
Property records mask the true owner of the Heritage New Zealand-listed Florence Court, a florid Edwardian mansion built in 1907, once owned by the Seabrooks, then Pacer Kerridge's David Phillips. Arthur Young, a Chapman Tripp lawyer, is the sole director and shareholder of the owner but said it is owned by John Sax. He founded Southpark Corp which re-developed more than 60 sites in the past 30 years, mainly in the industrial sector but also Orewa's Kensington Park housing estate.
Estimated value: $19.5m
Owners: 298 Remuera Road Ltd
Where: Remuera
Last sale date: November 2002
Last sale price: $7.8m
Land area: 3498sq m
Land value: $16m
Building floor area: 651sq m
This five-bedroom home of a third of a hectare was described as "colonial-inspired" and "of mansion proportions" when it was listed 18 years ago. It has four bathrooms and a huge 651sq m of home with four bathrooms. Just like the property above, records mask true ownership and two Auckland lawyers whose home address is not this one appear on its title: 298 Remuera Road Ltd's shareholders are Hornabrook Macdonald Lawyers' Andrew Macdonald and Mark Hornabrook. Hornabrook said the matter was "sensitive" and he could not say in what capacity he was involved. Asked who owned the property, he was unable to discuss it. A businessman involved in a major New Zealand funds business is understood to be the true owner and he expressed annoyance his lawyers were even asked.
Estimated value: $19.5m
Owners: James Terrence Grenon
Where: Takapuna
Last sale date: December 2012
Last sale price: $10.02m
Land area: 2363sq m
Land value: $15.5m
Building floor area: 961sq m
This Hawaiian-style home fronting Takapuna Beach has a swimming pool, hotel-style port cochure and was sold by migrants from Northern Ireland, Barry and Emma McCollam in 2004 for a national record $12.78m. The modern two-level home on its quarter-hectare site has timber highlighting and mellow sandstone flooring. Mature phoenix palms and pohutukawa flank its boundaries, giving a high level of privacy in a busy part of the Shore. It is now the private residence of Jim Grenon who on Queen's Birthday weekend last year, reportedly invited residents of the central Takapuna area into a neighbourly party.
Estimated value: $19m
Owners: The Crown
Where: Epsom
Last sale date: unavailable
Last sale price: unavailable
Land area: 1.5ha
Land value: $18.5m
Building floor area: 216sq m
This is another part of Auckland's Government House property, the governor-general's place where many public, private and VIP events are held. Most guests attending events or arriving for tours enter through the gate at the end of Savannah St near the entrance to Eden Gardens which is off Omana Rd but this property is listed as "the staff and goods entrance". Grand, in an old-world style.
'Developers are a good target for a council under financial pressure.' - Steve Evans