Historic home sells for $2.5m

Hulme Court in Parnell sold to an overseas owner for $2.5 million despite having a QV rating of $4.2 million. Photo / Paul Estcourt

One of Auckland's oldest homes on a huge Parnell main street site has sold for $2.5 million - well below its QV rating valuation of $4.2 million.

The price for Hulme Court at 350 Parnell Rd was disappointing, said agent John O'Brien, of Bayleys Real Estate.

"It reflects its historic classification - it is very restrictive what work you can do to any part of the property."

The five-bedroom house is on a 1745sq m site and has frontages to both Parnell Rd and St Georges Bay Rd.

It was sold by negotiation after tenders closed and had been on the market for 176 days before selling to an anonymous overseas resident, who intends to restore and modernise parts of it for his home.

Mr O'Brien said the 1843 house's historic classification narrowed the field down to buyers who had "good advisers and deep pockets".

Without the heritage tags, such a large site - which has harbour views - could have sold for a "significantly" higher sum.

Restrictions on changing the building fabric extended to even digging a drain or changing the front garden because it was an archaeological site.

The QV land value alone was $2.89 million, assessed in July 2008.

Owner Patrick Maguire was unavailable for comment.

In December, Herald Homes reported the Maguire family had owned the house since 1941 and Mr Maguire recalled it as "an old house, not a flash house".

The house was built by Frederick Whitaker, later premier, and was home to British regiment commander Colonel William Hulme, Native Affairs Minister Sir Francis Dillon Bell, Governor Sir Thomas Gore-Browne and Anglican Bishop George August Selwyn.

Historic Places Trust spokesman John O'Hare said Hulme Court is registered Category 1 with the trust and is further protected as Category A in the Auckland City District Plan.

If owners wanted to do any work on Hulme Court, the trust would become involved as an affected party and would have input into those plans. They would need trust consent for proposals.

"Hulme Court is a very important building and the trust would expect that an owner would consult with us before putting in a consent for works to ensure that what is being proposed would be a sensitive response to the values of the place."

In 2008, the trust's preservation incentive fund supported a study by conservation architect Adam Wild Conservation as to how the leaking roof could be fixed.

Mr Wild assessed the building as in "a fair condition" but yesterday said that the repairs succeeded and the stone walls and lime plaster coating had dried to near perfect condition.

"We have allowed it to repair itself."

He said the new owners shared the Maguires' sense of responsibility as a guardian and wanted to keep it as a home.

"They are keen to get the planning right before they even imagine how they will best adapt a building to 21st century standards."

Hulme Court, Parnell

* Second-oldest-surviving house in Auckland.

* Oldest Auckland house on its original site.

* Built in 1843 with 300mm-thick bluestone walls.

* Named after Colonel William Hulme, commander of British regiment.