Streets of gold

THE PROPERTY RICH LIST: ELITE SUBURBS

STREETS OF GOLD: HOW THE

Life in New Zealand’s most expensive suburbs is much the same as anywhere else – except the residents are more likely to pull up to the local dairy in a Lamborghini. DIANA CLEMENT reports.

Auckland’s streets of gold offer some luxurious living with tennis courts, swimming pools and even helipads thrown in.

The doyenne of them all is Arney Road. The 1.3km street that sweeps down the steep northern slopes of Remuera to Hobson Bay has the highest concentration of expensive homes in New Zealand, accounting for 21 of the 500 top house sales since 2000.

It’s closely followed by neighbouring Victoria Avenue, which accounts for 19 of the biggest sales, and Remuera Road which lays claims to 16.

Paritai Drive, in Orakei, widely viewed as New Zealand’s most prestigious address, has just 10 of the biggest sales - 11 if you count the record-breaking $38.5 million sale of the former Hotchin mansion on Huriaro Place, which borders the street.

The Herne Bay street with the most expensive homes is the waterfront Marine Parade, which claimed 11 top sales, while on the North Shore the place to watch is Takapuna’s Clifton Road, which has seven.

And while Herne Bay is New Zealand’s most expensive suburb, boasting a median property value of $3.3m, Remuera is the best place to land a luxury home. The suburb, which has a median property value of $2.28m, is home to 125 of the 500 top house sales, or 25%, while Herne Bay has just 50, with Takapuna and Waiheke Island next in the rankings, accounting for 27 each.

The figures also reveal New Zealand’s most valuable streets.

Houses on Wairangi Street, in Herne Bay, have the highest average CV, at $9.7m, although the street is home to just three properties and is only 130 metres long. Nipping at its heels is the nearby and slightly longer Cremorne Street, where properties have an average CV of $9.59m.

Paritai Drive’s average CV is $4m while Arney Road’s is just over $5m.

The total value of the 877 residential properties on Remuera Road is just shy of $2 billion, although the average CV is just $2.2m. Next is Victoria Avenue, where the total value of properties is $1.435bn, followed by clifftop Riddell Road, in Glendowie, Auckland where the total value of properties is $1.32bn.

Rod Duke’s former home at Arney Road, in Remuera, Auckland. He sold it last year for more than $14 million.

Photo / Supplied

The historic house on Arney Road known as St Ann’s.

Photo / Ted Baghurst

The grand Chateau de La Sur Me on Clifton Road, in Takapuna,Auckland.

Photo / Supplied

The most expensive home on Arney Road, by sale price, sold last year for $14.4m, but more than a few homes on that road have the potential to sell for $20m or more if they came to market. Two could even fetch $30m: one which last sold in 2011 for $11.25m, has a 2017 CV of $25m and offers 5112sqm of prime land, a six-bedroom home, tennis court and swimming pool, while another which last sold in 1996 for what was then a record $6.55m, has a CV of $24.5m and sits on a massive 12,581sqm corner section.

Many famous names have graced Arney Road. Briscoes boss Rod Duke lived there before he quit Remuera for Herne Bay. His grand Victorian home had six bedrooms, a six-car garage, tennis court, swimming pool and golf practice area.

Properties on that street are sometimes owned for generations. When the historic six-bedroom home known as St Ann’s went up for sale in 2019, it had only two previous owners. Built in 1914, the property sold in November last year for an undisclosed price. The original owner was Charles Isaac Nathan, from the merchant and brewing family that founded LD. Nathan & Co.

Another famous resident was the brother of artist Charles Frederick Goldie. More modern famous owners have included former Dragons’ Den star Paul Webb, who was convicted of tax evasion in 2018.

Arney Road residents don’t have to go far for some upmarket shopping. David Jones is a short walk away at Westfield Newmarket and there are numerous boutique stores at nearby Teed Street.

And for those needing to restock, Glengarry’s wine shop is at the top of the hill on the corner of Basset and Remuera roads. With residents unable to travel abroad, the Remuera shop has been selling more top wines from Europe than other branches.

The northern end of Arney Road is served by local dairy owners Ilyas and Jarina Patel, who have watched an entire generation of Arney Road children grow up. The suburb is much like any other, they say, and their customers buy pre y much the same stuff anyone else does – although they are more likely to pull up in a Lamborghini.

Shore Road Supre e sells the same lines as any other diary in the country, except for the occasional nod to higher class tastes like posh pies and American sweets. When the community wanted a café, the Patels converted their living quarters into what is now the Shore Road Café next door.

The café, which is leased to operators by the Patels, is the scene of many a business deal, and when OneRoof visited, there was an intense discussion at the next table about whether Bouclé or Chesterfield chairs would be more suitable for the customer’s home.

The block of shops also includes Marilyn’s Hairdressing, Nava Beauty Therapists, and John Stephens & Co Antiques Dealer, which has an impressive range of chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and high-end cars in the car park.

Arney Road itself is quiet. It sports immaculate gardens and wall-to-wall personalised number-plates in the driveways. No-one is out in the middle of the day except tradespeople and dog walkers.

One advantage Arney Road has over other top streets is its proximity to top-notch schools. No need to bus or drive the children to exclusive schools if you live on Arney Road: St Kentigern Boys’ School, Baradene College and King’s School are all within walking distance and the road is within the prized double grammar zone. And if your offspring play sport, then you’ll find the Parnell Cricket Club at the bo om of the road.

Argyle Street, in Herne Bay, which boasts six of the top 500 sales, isn’t as showy as Arney Road. Apart from the Sultan of Brunei’s former property, Waimanu estate , the best homes are hidden away down long driveways, si ing on the cliffs that overlook the harbour. The most interesting house on show is a castle designed by architect Brian Trubovich for himself. He grew up three doors from the property where his castle now sits. Trubovich told the New Zealand Herald in 2012 when he was selling the home that he designed it for the child in him. Every architect likes to build at least one house for themselves in their lifetime, he said.

HOW THE OTHER HALF LIVES

NEW ZEALAND’S MOST EXPENSIVE STREETS

The table below shows the Kiwi streets with the highest concentration of high-priced homes.The total value of residential properties on each street was worked out using the combined 2017 council rating valuations.The average CV for each street is also given.

Total value of residential properties Average Rating Valuation

Remuera Road, Remuera, Auckland $2bn $2m

Victoria Avenue, Remuera, Auckland $1bn $4m

Riddell Road, Glendowie, Auckland $1bn $2m

Saint Heliers Bay Road, Saint Heliers, Auckland $919m $2m

Arney Road, Remuera, Auckland $810m $5m

Saint Stephens Avenue, Parnell, Auckland $801m $4m

Upland Road, Remuera, Auckland $693m $3m

Hurstmere Road, Takapuna, Auckland $670m $2m

Paritai Drive, Orakei, Auckland $649m $4m

Lucerne Road, Remuera, Auckland $614m $3m

Bassett Road, Remuera, Auckland $604m $3m

Marine Parade, Herne Bay, Auckland $437m $5m

Clifton Road, Takapuna, Auckland $418m $4m

Arney Crescent, Remuera, Auckland $316m $5m

Burwood Crescent, Remuera, Auckland $304m $6m

Argyle Street, Herne Bay, Auckland $302m $4m Sentinel Road, Herne Bay, Auckland $252m $2m

Lake View Road, Takapuna, Auckland $217m $5m

Cremorne Street, Herne Bay, Auckland $144m $10m

O’neills Avenue, Takapuna, Auckland $124m $6m

Crescent Road, Epsom, Auckland $117m $3m

Bella Vista Road, Herne Bay, Auckland $117m $5m

Wairangi Street, Herne Bay, Auckland $29m $10m

Argyle Street has housed many famous people.

Earlier in its life, Waimanu estate was rented by pop star Rod Stewart and model Rachel Hunter when they visited New Zealand with their children. It later passed into the hands of the Sultan of Brunei and subsequently to Gary Lane, of Healtheries and Hansells fame.

One advantage Argyle “The local dairy sells the same lines as any other in the country, except for the occasional nod to higher class tastes like posh pies and American sweets.”

Street has over Arney Road is that it is only a few minutes’ walk to the beach. Nor is the neighbourhood suffering the empty-shop disease of Remuera Road. Argyle Street’s local strip along Jervois Road still has a full contingent of cafes, designer clothing, interior design, and other high end shops.

The North Shore’s most expensive street, Clifton Road, is lined with waterfront houses that have views out to Rangitoto. For those who don’t have direct water access, it’s a short stroll to the bo om of the road and onto Takapuna Beach, where you can walk your dog or meander along to Takapuna’s growing stable of good restaurants and laneways.

The most expensive home on the street, Chateau de La Sur Me, sold to Carmel and Hugh Fisher, of Fisher Funds, in 2016. The house, which is more than eight times the size of the average home in New Zealand and sits on nearly half a hectare of land, was originally on offer for $35m, but sold for $22m.

Clifton Road has been the preserve of some of New Zealand’s top businesswomen. A stone’s throw from the Fisher mansion is a house previously owned by Diane Foreman, who moved on to an 1880s-style homestead on Arney Road.

More infamous, than famous, is legal highs king Mr Kronic, aka Ma hew Wielenga, who bought a house Clifton Road which he subsequently bowled. The plot is currently a building site.

Just because you can buy chandeliers from Italy, balustrades from France, doesn’t mean your local shops will be opulent. The strip of shops just up from Clifton Road at Hauraki Corner is low key. Steamheads restaurant, which replaced LoneStar, closed due to Covid. The only eatery left sells $8.99 curries for lunch. If you want a drink, The Rudder on Hauraki offers pokies, which hopefully you don’t need. If the mortgage is causing pain and you can’t afford a washing machine, you’ll find a laundromat and Lo o shop.

And don’t get the locals started on the Countdown, which according to the community Facebook group doesn’t cater to their tastes.

In all fairness the butcher and artisan bakery shops aren’t bad, and the green market is adequate. All nestled, however, around a miserable car park spo ing a dank public toilet.

The good news for Clifton Road is that the nearby GoodFor Wholefoods Refillery is heaven with a halo. If money is no object, you can stock your pantry with posh, packageless everything from four varieties of fancy rooibos tea to pour your own Kombucha.

The shopping experience comes with lashings of style and sustainability. Simply walking into the immaculate environment feels great. Customers fill their baskets spending up to $200. Next door the Winsome Coffee and

Hugh and Carmel Fisher bought Chateau de La Sur Me, in Takapuna, in 2016 for $22 million.

Photo / Norrie Montgomery Plants café is a popular stop after refilling your pantry.

By car it’s a short hop from Clifton Road to the centre of Takapuna, or onto the Northern Motorway. Buses to virtually all of Auckland’s top schools including Kristin, Pinehurst, St Cuthbert’s, Kings and more pass the top of the street each morning and afternoon taking the children to the parents’ choice of private schools.

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