What is the real price of a view in New Zealand? You'll be surprised by how many dollars it adds to the value of a home. Video / OneRoof
A Havelock North house has broken the record for the highest sale price for a residential property in Hawke's Bay.
New Zealand Sotheby's International Realty made the residential sale, "in excess" of $4 million, in August.
Managing director central region Fraser Holland said it was the highest sale price a residential property in Hawke's Bay had sold for, with the exact price confidential.
The opulence of 59 Busby Hill, centre, as seen from Google Maps. Photo / Google Maps
Holland would not confirm which house it was but Hawke's Bay Today understands it is 59 Busby Hill, which sold on August 22.
The sales pitch for it said the five-bedroom 550sq m property sits on top of the hill and is set among almost 1.4 acres of mature garden, trees and manicured lawns.
A Havelock North suburb. Photo/ Warren Buckland
Originally designed and built in 1908, the house was rebuilt over a three-year period from 2013 from the ground up.
"The prior record was a Bluff Hill property sold by our agency in 2018," Holland said.
The Hawke's Bay property market remained fairly positive, and "pretty well-balanced overall," Holland said.
"A shortage of listings on the market across the price spectrum sees demand from buyers outstripping supply.
"The advent of spring is seeing our team appraise a number of new properties. Time will tell if we see the normal increase in listings at this time of year."
Property sales above the $2m property mark still formed a very small percentage of the total market, he said.
REINZ CEO Bindi Norwell. Photo / File
"Predominantly at this level the properties are lifestyle in nature, a beautiful home with a small amount of surrounding land.
Between January and August, seven properties sold for more than $2m in the Hastings and Napier areas.
Purchasers are locals and out-of-towners.
"Locals better understand and appreciate the prime Napier or Havelock North positions within a suburb.
"Out-of-towners are attracted by the lifestyle of the province, good-value quality properties, great schooling, the climate, and outdoor activities on hand.
"Time is precious and Aucklanders in particular find they have more free time living in the Bay. The ease of getting around is highly valued."
The Hawke's Bay property market also bucked the nationwide trend, with the number of $1 million-plus properties being sold in Hawke's Bay spiking in the first half of this year.
The number of properties sold in Hawke's Bay increased by 47.4 per cent from 38 sales in the first half of 2018 to 56 in the first half of 2019.
Previously, REINZ chief executive Bindi Norwell said the increase was not surprising.
"It's a really strong result for Hawke's Bay and not surprising. It's a popular place to live, it's more affordable compared to some other regions, it has amazing lifestyle options, and it has good infrastructure.
"There's so much demand for properties, and there's not enough supply, and with lots of pressure on house prices there's an increase in $1m properties."
