Lofty aspirations: Mixing with Auckland’s elite in a $16m penthouse

Sunday, 25 August 2024

Graham, Ollie and Andrew Wall sell at the top of the market - although, this will be their first penthouse.

There’s not many among us who could drop $16 million on a CBD apartment, but a real estate team that caters to the ultra wealthy hopes to find a Kiwi buyer. Jonathan Killick reports.

The “open home” for the penthouse in Auckland’s newest skyscraper at 51 Albert St was a swanky mixer with rich-listers and elites of the art world.

You won’t find a TradeMe listing for this one, because it’s being handled by Wall Real Estate in an off-market campaign.

Auckland homeowner feels relief as the Reserve Bank cuts interest rates for the first time in 4 years. With mortgage rates easing, he hopes to sell his investment property and ease financial strain.

Founder Graham Wall has consistently claimed the title for highest-value home sold in the city. For the last 10 years he’s been joined by sons Andrew and Ollie.

Graham insists the aim is to sell “the best” homes, not only the most expensive.

“We turn down listings all the time, and we’re not rude about it, we just say there’s better people than us to do it. A block of apartments in St Heliers or something like that, it’s just not us,” he says.

Four-metre walls and an entire floor mean this penthouse has unrivalled views of downtown Auckland, the Wall family says.

“And, it’s not that we think we’re anything special, but we know what we like, and like anything in life, you’re good at the stuff you like.”

For the penthouse launch event they’ve been loaned works from the Gow Langsford Gallery. Oyster hors d'oeuvres are paired with Maison Mumm RSRV, a champagne sold only direct to exclusive clients.

Jonathan Killick's wife, centre, pictured at the event, may be disappointed if she’s hoping for a $16m penthouse.

“The art is curated and so is the invite list. We know exactly who is coming and why,” says Andrew.

The guest list includes property developers, superyacht salesmen, luxury jewellers and art dealers as well as this reporter and his social-climbing wife.

Cloven toe shoes, a style called Tabi, are all the rage in high society circles in 2024.

One guest proudly shows off new boots for which he says he searched all over Europe. They look like they’ve got house paint splashed on them and the toe is cloven like a hoof.

I ask where they’re from: “Either France or Italy, I can’t remember,” he says.

51 Albert has been developed by Melbourne firm 94 Feet, promising a New York style of accommodation with concierge and doorman.

The penthouse has been filled with art borrowed for Gow Langsford Gallery. On the right is Pointing Figure by Ronnie Van Hout, which can be yours for $38,000.

The building houses the new Hotel Indigo, while 26 “sky residences” above get the best of both worlds with access to 24-hour room service and a private elevator away from the tourists.

The Walls say when it comes to selling real estate at the luxury end there are no bidding wars or petty multi-offer scenarios.

“It’s always one-on-one, definitely personal,” Ollie says. “It’s quite intimate,” adds Graham.

“And, it requires lateral thinking rather than raw fishing, which is why we have events like this, creating the right context for the right person,” Andrew says.

I ask Andrew if there’s an art piece on display that a buyer of the apartment absolutely needed to purchase at the same time.

He points out a charcoal drawing which he says is “soft, subtle”. To me it looks like a dark smudge, but I’m obviously uneducated in these matters.

Andrew, Graham and Ollie Wall, pictured left to right, say others have come knocking asking to join the company, but they’re determined to keep it a family business.

What about the blue and chrome rocket in the lounge? Surely that’s more a symbol for those wanting to rise to the top? It can be yours for $24,500.

The apartment’s clean lines and open spaces may well attract a collector, the Elam School of Fine Arts alumni says.

That’s in direct contrast to the $10m Batman-themed Metropolis building penthouse, which has a Chevvy Impala on a shag rug and an exotic dancer’s pole surrounded by recliners.

The Albert penthouse is minimalist to the point of not having curtains. And why would you obscure the view out the four-metre windows which offer 360-degree views of downtown Auckland?

“What you get when a penthouse occupies the whole level, is a scullery with a better view than any house in New Zealand,” Ollie says.

Nobody can enter or leave the lift without the owner giving access. When it comes to non-negotiables for rich-listers, Graham says security is a “huge issue”.

The newly completed building at 51 Albert Street in Auckland is home to the Indigo Hotel and 26 'sky residences'. The penthouse is expected to fetch around $16m.

There’s also little appetite for renovating kitchens or buying off the plan, the Walls say. Everything needs to be finished and ready to move in.

Looking out the lofty windows, it’s impossible to ignore the unfinished skeletal frame of the top half of the Seascape building where penthouses have been marketed for $11m to $16m.

At the party, a foreign exchange broker says he has a friend associated with the project, and he’s heard the building has halted due to money woes.

The next day, media reports confirm that subcontractors have been told to stop work, with China Construction alleging Shundi Group, which is developing Seascape, has failed to make a payment. Shundi disputes this, blaming “huge cost increases”, and the matter is reportedly before arbitration.

The Walls say they prefer not to work with overseas developers whose NZ projects are just a “line on a balance sheet”.

The penthouse on 51 Albert Street, featuring Blue Danube (the blue rocket) by artist David McCracken.

Whereas, its a “privilege” to work with 94 Feet, itself a family business run by Melbourne-based brothers Dean and Jonty Rzechta, and their former pro-basketball-playing father, Henry.

“We work with things that are beautiful, interesting, and more often than not, with beautiful and interesting people,” Andrew says.

So who will the beautiful buyer be? The Walls expect it’s going to be “downsizers”.

“The people with all the money in New Zealand are now at a stage of their life where they don’t have kids at school, they don’t want to mow the lawn,” Ollie says.

51 Albert has been seven years in the making, having come out of NZ Trade and Enterprise’s “project palace” programme to attract foreign investment.

“They have massive houses but spend half their time in Queenstown, London or Sydney, so they are becoming the buyers for these apartments, where in the past maybe not as much.”

Ollie sees the positioning of the building on Albert Street as another step in the road taking title over Queen Street as the true icon of the CBD.

“I think that happens with every big city in the world, the main street becomes full of tourists and a bit grubby, and there’s a lot of weird shit going on, and then you go back one and its like the more stylish version.”

However, luxury real estate has been far from easy street in recent times, suffering the same downturn as the rest of the market.

“I dont know if that is entirely based on economic conditions or the fact that most people with money are in Europe at this time of year,” Andrew says.

“People said to us when the interest rates went from nothing to crazy that our clients wouldn’t be affected by that… Let me tell you, everybody is affected by interest rates,” Graham adds.

Graham says last year they were doing sales above $25m, but this year they’ve only done a couple above $15m.

“But we’re only halfway through the year, summer is coming and the malaise is going away. I think we’re on the verge of a surge.”

Andrew, Ollie and Graham Wall in the “scullery with the best view in New Zealand”.

Graham says working as a family is “terrible”, “a slog” and “just really lovely”.

“People call every week saying they could work for us and make us more money, but then it wouldn’t be a family business, and we just don’t want to do that.”

Andrew puts the company’s success down to the fact that none of them were trained real estate agents, coming from arts and advertising backgrounds.

“We’re probably a lot more personal, and maybe a little less professional.”

Graham quips: “We like to think of ourselves as the ‘un-real estate agents’.”

He says each time they sell a house, they just “hope the luck continues”.

“We think the secret of success is having good manners and being very grateful, and that’s about all we’ve got that we can see is different to other people.”

Editor’s note: This story says there is no TradeMe listing for the property. It has subsequently been listed on TradeMe, here.

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