The 10 most expensive streets in New Zealand revealed

The country's 10 most expensive streets can all be found in the Auckland region and the Queenstown Lakes District, new CoreLogic research reveals.

The property data company identified the 10 priciest streets overall, and the top five in each of the main centres, using its estimated median value for every residential and lifestyle property nationwide as at mid-January. (The analysis is not based on rateable values).

CoreLogic's head of research Nick Goodall said the analysis was limited to streets with more than 10 residential properties, but he noted that shorter streets dominated the result.

That was because fewer properties in a street meant less variation, whereas in a longer street there could be more properties across the price spectrum, and a few very low prices would pull down the overall median, he said.

"For that reason, longer streets like Auckland's Paritai Drive, which are known to be costly and exclusive, are a bit lower down the list."

Paritai Drive in Orakei was home to New Zealand's top sale ever when a cliff-top mansion, developed by former Hanover Finance director Mark Hotchin, sold to China-born businessman Deyi Shi for $39 million in 2013.

But the street had 154 properties, and a median value of $3.5m.

Each of the top 10 streets identified by CoreLogic had a median value of more than $5.26m, but it was Cremorne Street in Auckland's prestigious Herne Bay that was the most expensive in the country.

The waterside cul-de-sac had a median value across 15 properties of $6.58m, and had been ranked near the top in previous lists of Auckland's most expensive streets for more than 20 years.

As of this week, all the homes on Cremorne Street had estimated values above $4.6m, but numbers 12 and 15 on the street had the highest, at $35.5m and $32.1m respectively, according to Homes.co.nz.

Back in 2018, number 15 was the top sale of the year when rich-listers Paula and Simon Herbert bought it for $27.5m.

Real estate agent Blair Haddow, from Bayleys Ponsonby, said the street was in an amazing location, and had all the attributes that made streets desirable.

It had large north facing sections, big heritage homes on a grand scale, was near the water, with a beach at the bottom of the street, some sites were on the waterfront, and it had great harbour views, he said.

"It's also in a central location, close to Ponsonby, Westhaven, the CBD and the motorway, and so had easy access to amenities. But the key thing to its values is probably the sheer size of the sites and the properties.

"Homes in the street are very tightly held and hardly ever change hands, despite being very much in demand."

The second most expensive street in the country was Slope Hill Road in Speargrass Flat in Queenstown. It had a median value of $6.48m across 35 properties.

Ray White Queenstown principal Bas Smith said it was a picturesque rural road, with large two to three hectare lifestyle properties, which was close to Lake Hayes.

There had been some good sales there over recent years, because property in the area around Lakes Hayes and Arrowtown was very sought after, he said. "It's in high demand, but there is not much that comes up for sale."

Queenstown's market was an unusual one with a high amount of large, high-end luxury properties, but many were in enclaves where homes had their own private access roads, and streets were not named, he said.

Mount Gold Place in Wanaka in the Queenstown Lakes District was the country's third most expensive street with a median value of $6.22m across 15 properties.

Nick Johnstone Drive on Waiheke in Auckland, and Ridgecrest in Wanaka round out the top five, with median values of $6.12m and $5.82m across 13 and 23 properties respectively.

Of the other five most expensive streets, three - Delamore Drive in Waiheke's Oneroa, Paraone Place in Omaha, and Castle Drive - were in Auckland. They had median values of $5.63m, $5.43m, and $5.26m.

The remaining two were in the Queenstown Lakes District; Waimana Place in Wanaka and Hogans Gully Road in Arrowtown, with median values of $5.53m and $5.45m.

Goodall says it was not surprising the country's most expensive streets were in the Auckland region and the Queenstown Lakes District, as they had the highest average prices.

CoreLogic's latest House Price Index had Auckland's average price at $1.35m, and Queenstown's at $1.67m, in December.

But the locations of the streets showed just how high the value placed on views, proximity to water, and scenic beauty was, he said.

"People really rate properties which have these features, and they tend to build bigger homes on them to make the most of the land parcel and the prime location."

Streets with large sections close to the centre of town also had a premium, especially as such sites had become rare as cities had been built up around them, he said.

"If a street has a combination of these features, or all of them, as is the case with Cremorne Street, the odds are it will have a higher median value."

The three Wanaka streets in the top 10 also illustrated this. Harcourts Wanaka owner Grant Parker said they all had easy access to the lake, spectacular views, large sections, and were close to town.

"Mount Gold Place is the furthest from the town centre, but it's just a few minutes drive, and has breathtaking panoramic views of the lake and the mountains."

Waimana Place and Ridgecrest were both prestige streets, with many huge one acre (0.4 hectare) sections that allowed for pools and tennis courts, he said.

Wellington's most expensive street was Bayview Terrace in Oriental Bay. It had a median value of $3.35m across 11 properties.

The waterfront suburb of Oriental Bay, which was close to the water and to the CBD, was a pricey one. While Bayview Terrace was not on the waterfront itself, it had harbour views and easy access to the water, as well as Mount Victoria's green space.

In Christchurch, the most expensive street was Heathfield Avenue in Fendalton. It had a median value of $3.64m across 10 properties.

The small, tree-lined cul-de-sac had been named the city's most expensive street before, and Fendalton had long been its most expensive suburb. It was not close to the water, but it was less than 3km from the CBD, and in zone for top schools.

Hamilton's most expensive street was Kotahi Avenue in Beerescourt, with a median value of $2.57m across 11 properties; Tauranga's was Otira Close in Papamoa, with a median of $3.68m across 19 properties; and Dunedin's was School Rd North in Mosgiel with a median of $1.77m across 13 properties.

* This story originally appeared on Stuff.