Apartment 3601 near the top of the Metropolis building in Auckland CBD was the most expensive residential property sold this year, and the only apartment in the top 10. It was bought by Singapore-based hedge fund manager Richard Anthony Magides for $7.85 million - more than 17 times last month's national median house price of $455,750.
Occupying the 36th floor, the luxury penthouse has 527sq m of internal space and 415sq m of outdoor decks - about three times the floor area of the average New Zealand house.
It comes with 20 underground car parks, remote control floor-to-ceiling blinds, walls decked in Azul Bateig tiles and leather, polished wooden floors and three double bedrooms with ensuites featuring walk-in double showers.
There's a rooftop herb garden to supplement a kitchen sporting wine racks, butler's pantry, private service lift and a 10m-long freestanding solid stone kitchen bench top.
The decks face north, west and south and offer views of the Hauraki Gulf, Rangitoto Island, the North Shore coastline, Waitakere Ranges and Manukau Harbour. They also provide a bird's-eye view of downtown Auckland and a dramatic vista of the Sky Tower.
The apartment's 2011 capital value was $5.48 million, but rose to $7.6 million this year. The 2014/15 rates come to $18,088.
Mr Magides is founder of Artradis Fund Management.
Bloomberg.com described Artradis as "once Singapore's biggest hedge fund".
Mr Magides is director of New Zermatt Properties and Paroa Bay Winery.
Sotheby's International Realty agent John Greenwood noted a trend in which apartments with large decks for entertaining guests were increasingly selling well.
The next priciest home, a three-bedroom, 500sq m roughcast mansion at 18 The Esplanade, Takapuna, fetched $7.6 million.
The highest capital value of any home in the top 10 was the $8.8 million CV attached to a beachfront mansion on an isthmus at 17 O'Neills Ave, Takapuna.
The house went to Jingbo Wang, described by real estate agent Wendy Wong as "a Chinese business owner" involved in property development.
Company directors were purchasers or sellers of many of the top 10 homes.
Megan and Kenneth Syminton, directors of Wilson Foods, bought a Campbells Bay house for $7.6 million.
Robt Jones Holdings company director Greg Loveridge snapped up actor Karl Urban's former Herne Bay home for $6.65 million.
A Westmere home on Rawene Ave sold for $7.1 million to Madison recruitment group director Wynnis Armour.
And the former home of 42 Below founding shareholder Shane McKillen, on Remuera's Victoria Ave, went for $6.28 million.
The information compiled by CoreLogic refers only to residential homes, not lifestyle blocks, and some large sales will also not be included on this year's list as they had not been settled when it was compiled.
Real Estate Institute chief executive Helen O'Sullivan said high land prices partly explain why the most expensive sales occurred in Auckland.
Additions to capital value - including new insulation standards - had also driven prices up.
"Houses have got bigger over the past 30 to 40 years," Ms O'Sullivan said. "Two bathrooms is the minimum people expect these days.
"You expect a new property is fully insulated [and] modern wiring standards are higher.
"They have raised value and price. And the amenity value has been raised. Insulation does cost money but adds value."
Ms O'Sullivan was not surprised the highest-value house sales outside Auckland included many Christchurch properties.
"The other big contributor to the national median price movement has been Christchurch," she said.
"Additions are getting more expensive and Christchurch has become more expensive to build in."
