The New Zealand Herald

An expensive home could be your dream

Let yourself dream and take a tour of six of the flashest homes on sale in New Zealand (and Fiji).

Each New Year is a chance to take a moment and dream about a better life.

Like what it would feel like to be among the top 1 per cent, living in the country’s flashest homes?

These are properties where you can pop champagne on private beaches, wander acres of personal gardens or spend time in your own spa and sauna “wellness hubs”.

Or where preparatio­n for a night out starts by choosing an outfit from a walk-in wardrobe bigger than a small flat or where you can relax with hot chocolate by the fire watching the sun set over stunning mountains.

Here are six of New Zealand’s grandest homes on the market right now:

226 Remuera Rd, Remuera, Auckland City

Could this Remuera Rd mansion be the most expensive home ever renovated in New Zealand?

Selling agent Graham Wall says its owners spent as much as $10 million transformi­ng the grand 1916-built Remuera Rd mansion into a modern home. The property offers 1820sq m of country-estate style living in the heart of Auckland.

It mixes historic brick veneers and kauri and oakpanel interiors with a sleek-new kitchen, home cinema, wine cellar, five bedrooms, swimming pool and extensive gardens.

And being built on the slopes of Mt Hobson, the upper of its three storeys has spectacula­r harbour views while enjoying dinner with friends or your morning coffee.

215 Bleakhouse Rd, Mellons Bay, Auckland

If you thought 1820sq m was big, how about strolling through nearly three acres of your own private Auckland coastal land?

Owning this Mellons Bay mansion’s 11,831sq m of grounds in Auckland’s east is almost like owning your own seaside reserve.

Its grounds are so big you enter via a tree-lined driveway.

And when walking through its gardens you take in gorgeous views over Waiheke Island while meandering down to your own beach.

The main 1937-built home is one of three buildings on the property; the others are separate living and dormitory areas.

Given this is the first time the property has been on the market in 58 years and we are dreaming big, you might want to consider renovating the main home. As it is, the home’s floor-toceiling windows allow for beautiful ocean views.

354 Dublin Bay Rd, Wa¯ naka and 8 Foxglove Heights, Wa¯ naka

Let’s face it, what is a dream list without any Queenstown or Wā naka homes?

So here are two – one offering a spectacula­r view and the second packing the comfort that good daydreams deserve.

The first 8ha Wā naka property on Dublin Bay Rd occupies one of the town’s “most commanding views” – an angle of Lake Wā naka that is regularly captured in photo and film.

With that type of view, the selling agents say homes in Dublin Bay Rd don’t come up for grabs often. The house also offers plenty of comfort, including underfloor heating and an open fire. The Foxglove Heights home might not have quite the same view, but its floor-to-ceiling windows still look out onto a mountain panorama, on this sustainabl­e build.

The property has a wellness hub, featuring an indoor spa, sauna, steam room, shower, changing room and powder room, and a guest wing.

Central Hawke’s Bay

You get more bang for your buck when you move to the regions, especially if you dream of living with James Bond-villain level privacy in a resort-style compound.

And this central Hawke’s Bay home, near Napier, has all the luxury you could ask for.

Set in 24ha of private grounds that are visited by native tū¯ı, it comes with bathtubs with a view, a sauna, steam room and huge indoor swimming pool as well as eight bedrooms and entertaini­ng areas.

The selling agents bill it as the ultimate “work-from-home haven in the country” where you may never want to leave.

Nanuyasesa­ra and Nanuyabuli Islands in Fiji

Okay, these Fijian islands aren’t in New Zealand. And they’re uninhabite­d.

But given we are daydreamin­g, it still tickles our fancy to think about building a dream home on a tropical island, not too far northwest of Fiji’s capital Suva. And imagine, you can spend the night on one island and then cross the lagoon to the other the next.

And sea level rise and cyclones could be matters to think about.

Still, it’s amazing to be able to buy your own island.