Kerikeri resorthomesellsinthe middleofcyclonechaosfor$2.3m

Retireesfrom Auckland sawitonthe Saturday, andboughtit four days later.

NikkiPreston

AnorthAuckland coupleset eyes on their resort-style dream homeonSaturday and were thenewowners fourdays later even when the region wasleft withoutany phoneorinternet communicationshours beforethey were duetobidatauction.

Theunique Mediterranean-inspired property on Daroux DriveinKerikeri was aperfect match for the retired couple whohadalreadysoldtheir homebeforemakinga pre-auction offerof$2.3millionfor the property–well aboveits RV of $1.595m.

Bayleys listing agent Sheree Robinsonsaidtheoctagon-shaped property designed by well-known innovativeandcreativearchitectIan Burrow wasalwaysgoing to be an emotionalpurchase duetoits absolute uniquenessandhadbeendifficult to puta priceonfor that reason.

“It’sa realstunning Mediterraneaninspired home. Youwalkintothe atriumandthere’s waterfeatures, there’s littlecurvedwindowsthat give youtheimpressionthat youare walkingthrougha Mediterranean village. It’s beautiful.”

Theoutsideareawasequally impressive,shesaid,withtheowners transforming whatwasessentiallya paddockwhentheyboughtitin2016 intoatranquil garden with amanmadelakeand4000 tropicaland native trees.

“Itwas ahugeproject forthe owners anditwasalldonefromscratch.”

Thepropertyincludeda Japanese garden whichstruck aspecial chord withthe buyerwhowas akeen landscapegardener andhadspenttime overseascreatingthem.

Robinsonsaidtheoriginal owners hadspenta lotoftimecreatingthe showcasehomeandshe couldn’t have found amoresuitablebuyerfor it.

“The propertywas perfectfor them –I’m justso glad theysaw it becauseit was absolutelyperfect forthem.

“Theyare very excited and Iknow theywilllookafter it.”

Thebuyers were aretired couple whohad beenlookingfor awhile. They made the pre-auctionofferatthe weekendinthe hope of securingitand oncethe offer wasaccepted the auction was broughtforward.

However, Robinsonsaidtheauction nearly didn’t happenafter Kerikeri lost communicationonWednesday.

“The whole of Kerikeri wasout–no phonereception andnointernetwhich was abitscary.”

Withthe Bayleys auctioneerunable to fly up to attendtheauctionand no wayoflivestreamingthe auctiondue to nointernet,they managed to findan auctioneer in Whangarei whodrove up to Kerikeri to runit.

“Hewas agodsend.”

Robinsonsaidthepeoplewho madethe pre-auction offerand were the onlybidders hadalsolostinternet connectionat theirnorthAuckland home duetostorm damage, butwere able to listen to theauction viathe phone.

“Luckilyitall went to planinthe end, butitwas abitintense.”

Aluxuryfour-bedroom,twobathroomproperty, with asimilar price rangetotheDaroux Driveproperty, on 21 AdamsonRoadisfor salein Taipa, FarNorth.

Robinsonsaiditwasanother stunninghome.

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Aboutthe Tables

THEONEROOF-VALOCITYHOUSE VALUEINDEX tracks theaverage valueofNew Zealand residential andlifestyle properties at asuburb,territorial authority, regional andnationwidelevel. Theindex is designedtobeabletoestimatedollarvalues, movements, andindexation. Theindex is designedtobeabletouse arangeofsources ofproperty andsales data,ensuring that estimates provided areabletotakeintoaccountthemost recent information. Theresults arebased ona composite of statisticalmodels andare fullystratified. The figuresin thetablebelowcover every Northlandsuburb over the12-monthperiod endingonMarch 31,2023,with data from the OneRoof-ValocityHouse ValueIndex taken on March20,2023.