Summer rooms with glazed balconies at 236 Kepa Rd. Photo/Cooper and Associates
Summer rooms with glazed balconies at 236 Kepa Rd. Photo/Cooper and Associates
The microwave is a $5000 Gaggenau, the super-sized fridge is double-door, benchtops are stone, cabinetry is oak, the ensuite has Italian porcelain fittings and the unit has blinding views across to Rangitoto.
Welcome to one of Auckland's newest luxury apartment projects, developed for the wealthy eastern suburbs where Outlook, 236Kepa Rd, Orakei has been popular to the point where buyers are paying thousands of dollars over the original asking prices to secure a purchase.
236 Kepa Rd opposite Eastridge. Photo / Cooper and Associates
"One was $2.35m but the sale was over $2.4m," said Martin Cooper of Cooper & Associates which developed the $82 million project in a joint venture with Mike Sullivan of Clearwater Construction. "Others have sold above the asking price too.
"These are multi-offer situations so everyone put their best foot forward. It's busy out there. In fact, I haven't seen it this busy in years. Real estate agents are saying the same thing to me," said Cooper, also vice-president of the NZ Property Council's Auckland branch.
Tamba Carlton, a senior research analyst at property specialists CBRE, said buyers at other projects had also paid more than the asking price, particularly for what they considered the best developments.
"It's not unusual. It's because this is a quality A-grade product. People who have been looking for a while have a fire under them. The housing market, in general, has really picked up in the last few months. This area has really come up in the apartment pipeline," she said.
Cooper said local downsizers had been the main market at the 43-unit five-level project, with empty-nesters in their 50s and 60s dominating buyers.
Martin Cooper developed with block with Clearwater. Photo / Cooper & Associates
"They're people who've lived in often big, quite valuable homes in the area for many years, raised a family. Sometimes, their home needs work and so they now want smaller, lower maintenance, lock-up-and-leave places with all the bells and whistles," Cooper said.
"They've come from Remuera's northern slopes, Mission Bay and even people who returned to Auckland to get better access to medical facilities here."
Stone benches, Gaggenau appliances. Photo/Cooper and Associates
All units in the building with 76 basement carparks are now either settled or under contract at the site where once only three houses stood opposite Eastridge shopping centre.
The land was purchased in January 2017 and the project took around two and a half years to complete, "quicker than expected". Having Clearwater build it, with the founder in the joint venture, meant timeframes could be "pushed", Cooper said.
Outlook was designed by Christchurch firm MAP Architects. Sullivan had worked with them on 12 projects previously, Cooper said. Land and consultants' fees were around $9.2m. Cooper said it was an outstanding success from his point of view.
Inside 236 Kepa Rd. Photo/Cooper and Associates
"The cost of Outlook was in the high $30 millions. Now, Cooper & Associates and Clearwater are onto our next development, Elm in Remuera. We have a scaffold tower up for views and a show suite almost finished at 18 Orakei Rd. We are getting a lot of interest already."
One 48sq m one-bedroom Outlook apartment in the low-rise 'muse' block north of the main block went for $925,000 which Cooper said might set a new Auckland record.
"The muse is five units on two levels" and the price was due to a garden outdoor area surrounding the apartment.
Outlook units sold from $650,000 for a one-bedroom in the main block up to $4.8m for a 200sq m penthouse with 50sq m wrap-around balconies to the north and east, he said.
"The project has been popular with singles, many buying one-bedroom places," he said.
Rolf Masfen at Eastridge. Photo / Richard Robinson
Rolf Masfen of Masfen Group which owns Eastridge said he had watched Outlook rise with interest and it took advantage of its position on the ridge, looking to the north.
"High-quality development is certainly welcomed and I am glad to hear that the development has apparently been a success," he said.
The shopping centre had been upgraded, "given a facelift, with new medical facilities and The Eatery down the eastern end, giving it a facelift to present better, but leaving the layout and format as it is because it's very useful to the community, like corner shops on steroids. I don't have any plans to redevelop it", Masfen said.
