Buck the trend and upsize into luxury

Three of Auckland's finest homes are for sale as ex-pat Kiwis are arriving home with millions to spend.

High-end real estate agents say there is a shortage of good property in the $5 million plus end of the market. Expats coming home from Europe and Asia are benefiting from a favourable exchange rate and are looking for big family homes.

Rich Lister Mark Wyborn - worth a reported $190 million from property and farming - is selling his Mission Bay mansion, which has a CV of $6.8m.

The Godden Cres property, for sale by negotiation, inclues a pool and tennis court, and has harbour views from almost an acre of park-like grounds.

Wyborn bought the house for $5.25m in 1998, but Bayleys agent David Rainbow said the property had been completely renovated and extended, and was worth considerably more. Wyborn was selling the property because his children had now grown up and left, he said.

"A home and land of this size is no longer required."

Rainbow is also handling the sale of the Ronaki Rd mansion owned by Craig Norgate, the chairman of farming supply company PGG Wrightson. The 1457sq m site offers sweeping harbour views and carries a price tag of about $7m.

The property is on the market because Norgate has downsized to a luxury apartment in Parnell - and his children have left home too.

Auckland real estate expert Graham Wall said the owners of properties at the top end of the market were insulated from the credit crunch and could afford to wait for their asking price.

Property investor John Sanders is selling his Remuera Rd home, which has a CV of $9.2m, for an undisclosed price. The Unlimited Potential website describes the property as being set on two acres of land with harbour views.

Sanders originally bought the home from merchant banker David Richwhite but has since added additional land to the property.

Barfoot and Thompson agent Paul Barnao, who deals in high-end real estate, said some returning ex-pats, in their 30s and 40s, were looking for large family homes in Remuera and the eastern suburbs.

"You don't have to sell them location. They already know about it."

BAG A BARGAIN IN HILLSBOROUGH

The recession has seen a steady stream of property bargains entering the market - but this could be the biggest yet. An Auckland section is being sold for less than a third of its capital valuation.

The 1085sq m piece of land at 16A Hoskins Ave in Hillsborough is on offer for $160,000, despite having a hefty $520,000 CV. Ray White agent Diane Goer says the owner is "desperate to sell" because he is in "financial strife".

She said the property had valley views and if a house was built in the right position, there was a "possibility" of a peek of the Manukau Harbour.

The owner bought the land in 2005 for $150,000.