But those figures are two years out of date. Auckland property prices have been rising at around 20 per cent annually, so the property is probably worth at least $6 million now.
For two years, the property was neglected, without any services, its garden overgrown and a hedge bursting through a cracked concrete fence. But it has now been reduced to a pile of rubble, fenced off by demolition workers who were yesterday spraying water on the site to dampen dust.
The section is on a sloping site overlooking the Auckland Harbour Bridge and has panoramic water views.
It is also only a few properties away from property investor and multimillionaire Ben Cook's house, which he bought last year for $24 million, setting the 2015 top price for a New Zealand house transaction.
Yesterday, workers were busy with a digger on-site, used to pick apart the house.
They were piling demolition materials into large heaps, ready for removal.
Property records show the property is owned by Watchman Holdings, whose directors include Graeme Murphy. Last year, he told the Herald of the property's history.
"It's been divided into four flats and it's just been like a party house for the past five years," he said then. "It's been added to over the years, and it's had three or four alterations made to it."
He said he expected a new house to be built on the site by December this year.
See the Herne Bay location on a Google Map here:
