OneRoof: The most expensive places to live in New Zealand revealed. Video / OneRoof
Covid hasn't been kind to any of us over the past two years.
And if you've spent more than your fair share of time homeschooling the kids and running Zoom meetings from the dining table, it might be time to let your imagination run.
Think what it would be liketo have a bigger house with a swimming pool for the kids to play in, or a home office with an actual desk to work on?
But why stop there – what if money was no object?
Check out these properties of the top 1 per cent – the sort of houses owned by Hollywood stars and business tycoons.
They're some of the flashest homes on sale in New Zealand right now – places where you need never fear lockdown again.
This home in Western Avenue in Omokoroa, near Tauranga, has every creature comfort you could possibly need hidden behind its ivy exterior. Photo / Supplied
This palatial, ivy-covered, Italian-inspired compound north of Tauranga has everything you need to stop you going stir crazy.
Behind its wrought-iron gates, manicured hedges and Roman columns are 2278sq m of spacious lawns and a floodlit court to play tennis or shoot hoops on.
There's also a lap pool and the chance to strip down for "hot yoga" while listening to your favourite tunes over the "award-winning" outdoor music system.
This palatial mansion on Kauri Point Road in Laingholm in Auckland's sits on its own promontory jutting into the water. Photo / Supplied
If you're a fan of the Omokoroa property's gated seclusion but don't want to leave Auckland, this listing near Titirangi in the city's west could be just the thing.
Sitting on its own promontory with gorgeous harbour views and forest cover for privacy, it's got a cool entry, with cars arriving down a covered drive lined with toga-clad statues.
Indoors, the "clever arced design based on points of the compass captures all-day sun".
There is a spiral staircase, mini-pond, glittering walk-in wardrobe and two separate bars to help you tackle the lockdown blues.
See eye to eye with tourists in the Sky Tower from the lounge room of the Pacifica Super Penthouse. Photo / Supplied
If you're the type of person who has their head in the clouds, check out the 178m-tall Pacifica building's "super penthouse".
As New Zealand's tallest apartment building, it's one of the few places in Auckland where you can see eye-to-eye with visitors to the Sky Tower viewing platform or take a hot tub while looking down at Rangitoto and the "ants" scurrying about the streets below.
With a $42m asking price, it will also be the most expensive home to sell in New Zealand should it go anytime soon.
New Zealand Sotheby's International Realty selling agent Pene Milne says the "stunningly beautiful" 360 degree views never cease to take her breath away.
The 1219sq m apartment also boasts five bedrooms and almost twice as many bathrooms along with its own library and a host of other fancy features.
And the 24-hour concierge service makes it that much easier to order in without having to set foot on the pandemic-riddled pavements below.
The beautiful family home on Cheltenham Rd in Devonport in Auckland is virtually on the beach. Photo / Supplied
Should you find the last three properties excessive, try this Devonport home for size.
Understated and beautiful, it has a secret weapon when it comes to beating the lockdown blues: Cheltenham Beach is virtually at the back door.
"Open your gate, cross the lawn and feel the warm sensation of the golden sand between your toes or sit on your deck with friends and enjoy the spectacular views," the marketing material states.
Inside there are no wine cellars or media rooms, just open-plan spaces that take in the sea views, wooden floorboards, easy walks to primary schools and plenty of other simple family pleasures.
38 Foreman Jury Rd, Martinborough, South Wairarapa
Ponatahi House in Martinborough, north of Wellington, is a statement house designed to impress with a poem written on its exterior walls. Photo / Supplied
When it comes to statement homes, Ponatahi House in Martinborough, north of Wellington, is among the country's most notable.
The architecturally designed property is often referred to as The House Wrapped in Literature, according to its selling agents.
That's because the exterior walls are encased in 120 glass panels, each containing words from a poem.
Who needs a library when you can read the walls?
The house also has seven bedrooms, a guesthouse, 101sq m home office, lap pool, garage workshop, jetty and tennis court. From the lawn helipad it's a 15-minute flight to the capital.
It also boasts a romantic backstory - courtesty of John Milsome Jury and his Maori princess bride Te Aitu-o-te-rangi.
Apparently Jury, an English whaling ship crewman, met chieftain's daughter Te Aitu when she had been taken prisoner by another tribe.
Falling in love during a series of fleeting encounters, the pair escaped together under cover of darkness, evading capture and eventually returning to Te Aitu's traditional lands near the Ruamahanga River.
"Today Ponatahi House is located close to the Ruamahanga River near where John and Te Aitu's descendants have farmed for generations," the home's official website states.
