By WAYNE THOMPSON
Homes of two of New Zealand's richest men, Douglas Myers and Craig Heatley, feature in a new push to sell multimillion-dollar real estate to overseas investors.
The Remuera mansion of Mr Myers is being offered overseas for $8.5 million after failing to sell at tender in March.
Agents will not reveal the price for Mr Heatley's 10-year-old Takapuna beachfront home but say it could sell for more than $10 million.
Both men live overseas.
Bayleys Real Estate is sending a glossy brochure overseas containing vivid descriptions of 56 top New Zealand residential, rural, tourism and commercial properties for sale.
Listings in the brochure and an associated website include the $16 million Paroa Bay Farm and the $10 million Omata Retreat, both in the Bay of Islands.
The $8 million Lillybank Lodge hunting resort, built by a son of former Indonesia President Suharto, is the cream of South Island lakes properties.
Bayley's spokesman David Bayley said last night that the company's Investment New Zealand campaign was spurred by a limited domestic market for high-priced properties.
The pool of potential buyers thinned out at $10 million, he said.
Others in the industry agreed, saying the average wealthy New Zealand buyers were executives looking at homes in the $2.5 million to $4.5 million range.
By contrast, Bayleys receives six overseas inquiries a week about a beachfront mansion at Clifton Rd, Takapuna, which is expected to fetch more than $8 million.
Some of the multimillion-dollar homes sold this year have been to New Zealanders who made their fortunes overseas and want to return for the lifestyle and to raise families.
In January, Kiwi David Hughes, a former senior executive in an American internet company, paid a record $8.3 million for a Takapuna home.
Foreign investors can buy commercial property up to $10 million without the approval of the Overseas Investment Commission.
Approval is required for some rural and waterfront property.
Mr Bayley said he and his team had recently visited both US coasts to interest buyers, and in October would exhibit in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates.
Douglas Myers, Craig Heatley mansions touted to foreigners
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