An America’s Cup syndicate chief executive passed up the chance to rent a $25 million Remuera mansion because he didn’t fancy the view. Perhaps he would have preferred the view from the view of one of the luxury Beaufort Homes For Sale instead.
He wasn’t worried about the $4500 a week rent for the five bedroom, five bathroom manor, dance studio, sauna, bar, tennis court and pool.
Bayleys general manager residential Lisa Sargison said the chief executive didn’t want views of Waitemata Harbour – he preferred to see more of Rangitoto Island and the race course – “so he asked us to keep trying”.
For the same reason he passed up a six-bedroom, five bathroom Remuera mansion with separate staff quarters, clifftop site overlooking Orakei Basin, the inner harbour and the city, available for rent at $4300 a week.
The $25m home was sold in March this year by Simon and Paula Herbert to a Chinese technology executive who reportedly planned to live in the house and send his children to local schools.
Sargison said that some syndicate owners, the next echelon up from the men heading day to day operations of the racing crews, intended bringing down their super-yachts.
“They will most likely stay on board those luxury vessels, or in the penthouse suites of Park Hyatt, Sofitel and the Hilton just a short walk away from where the syndicates will be based,” she said.
America’s Cup syndicates and crews are expected to rent houses for two to three years, although a recent reported sale was a $7m Herne Bay sale to one of the challengers.
Sargison said the company was working with two syndicates looking to lease three and four-bedroom homes in the upmarket city-fringe suburbs of Herne Bay, Freeman’s Bay, Remuera, Parnell, St Heliers and Devonport, or high-end apartments in the CBD.
Both syndicates indicated they wanted 18-month to two-year leases towards the end of next year. Rental budgets were upwards of $1000 a week.
“Location was the most important factor, followed by comfort and style.
“The instructions from both syndicates were that their people wanted to be close to the city, within cycling distance or a $10 Uber ride from where the syndicates will be based in the Wynyard Quarter,” Sargison said.
“Many are coming down with their wives and families although school zones weren’t crucial.”
The America’s Cup in 2021 was expected to drive Auckland real estate and many agencies were lacing their advertising with reference to the races.
A Bayleys commercial spokesman said the Wynyard area was “on fire” as more corporates moved in and apartments and hotels opened.
Agent Chris Beasleigh said investment activity included the $635m purchase of the office headquarters of KPMG, Auckland Transport, Microsoft, Fonterra, Bayleys and Datacom by North American- based equity management fund Blackstone.
“The area is set for a very positive future, even before factoring the economic benefits of the America’s Cup,” Beasleigh said.
Next year the $200m 195-room Park Hyatt Hotel will open about 200m away.
A new development called Wynyard Central is being marketed for sale – a 753 square metre 12-unit retail building at the base of new apartment complexes, on the corner of Daldy and Pakenham Streets in Wynyard Quarter.
One tenancy remains – other tenants include restaurants, a winery, grooming salon, and Barfoot & Thompson real estate agency.
The shops and restaurants are underneath 113 high-end apartments, and flanked by the 132 Halsey residential development to the east, and the 30 Madden apartment complex to the West – both by Willis Bond & Co.
The projected annual rental is $457,500. The 128 year lease on the ground, owned by Auckland’s property agency Panuku Development, has been pre-paid from December 2015.