KEY POINTS:
One is the loneliest number when it comes to Auckland's top street.
While most of us might be content with just one house, a group of well-heeled industry captains have gone one better.
These folk each own at least two properties on Orakei's prized Paritai Drive, which is losing none of its appeal for millionaires.
The reward? A cliff-top spot with panoramic views across to the CBD and out to the Hauraki Gulf - if you can ignore the ubiquitous tour buses.
Property investor James Kirkpatrick, financier Mark Hotchin and cashed-up health food magnate Gary Lane have at least two properties each on the street, according to QV records.
The three men could be holding $70 million in property there, almost exactly the same amount being asked for Australia's most expensive house, owned by Perth mining heiress Angela Bennett.
Her Mosman Park place with views of the Swan River is expected to sell for A$70 million ($78 million), eclipsing Australia's existing record: the A$28 million paid by publisher Deke Miskin for Altona in Sydney's Point Piper.
Kirkpatrick has prime dress-circle positions on both sides of the Paritai Drive/Tuhaere St intersection.
He and wife Gilda live in a well-fenced house on one side. QV says that is worth a conservative $9.1 million but sources say $2 million has been spent on it lately.
QV records also show Kirkpatrick owns the house directly across the street, for which he wants $11 million. If he achieves that, it will be just under the Auckland record of $12.78 million paid for a Takapuna house in 2004.
Hotchin is the "newbie" on the street, due to arrive in a few months. He is building one of the city's most luxurious new houses on adjoining sites in the centre of Paritai Drive and is said to have paid around $17 million for the land alone.
His house could be worth $30 million once finished. Block foundation and ground retention work is well advanced and builders are now putting up the framework.
Hotchin amalgamated sections alongside a public walkway between Paritai Drive and the cul-de-sac Huriaro Place to get the large building platform.
About a year ago, Lane left his Paritai Drive mansion for Waimanu, the Sultan of Brunei's former stronghold in Herne Bay. QV records show he still owns 66 and 68 Paritai Drive, worth $14.2 million for rating purposes. But sources say they have a market value closer to $20 million.
He has kept these properties, despite having moved across town to Stack St. Apart from maintenance staff, Waimanu was almost deserted for years under the Sultan's ownership. Its gardens had become overgrown and the place looked lavish but dated.
So before upping sticks from Paritai Drive, Lane removed many of Waimanu's larger trees and ripped out the gauche interior to replace it with a more neutral, stylish decor.
Barfoot & Thompson agent Leila MacDonald is selling one of Kirkpatricks' mansions which she described as "regal". The five-bedroom house at 92 Paritai Drive was designed by architect Ron Sang and for $11 million, buyers will get a five-car garage, water fountains, granite entry foyer, marble ensuites and pool.
It is across the road from the house where the Kirkpatricks live, which has been dubbed "the wedding cake house" for its palatial style and recent renovation.
