Heritage homes go under the hammer

Friday, 16 February 2024

Four 19th century homes up for sale drew mixed results at a real estate auction in Christchurch on Thursday.

Eliza’s Manor House in central Christchurch is for sale with a $5.5 million price tag after being passed in at the Harcourts auction.

Meanwhile, a heritage house in Akaroa sold under the hammer for $380,000 more than its owners paid for it less than three years ago, and two cottages from early Christchurch were passed in.

Eliza’s Manor is a Victorian timber mansion on Bealey Ave, built in 1861 and extensively restored since the earthquakes.

It is owned by hospitality operators Francesca Voza and James Sumner, who run it as a five-star boutique hotel and restaurant. They intend to stay on as tenants and continue running the business.

The property was passed in with no bids at the Harcourts auction.

The Akaroa house, opposite the Garden of Tane on Rue Jolie, sold for $1.43m.

Built in the late 1870s, and listed with Heritage New Zealand, it has been enlarged and renovated over the years and has been used as a holiday home.

It last sold in April 2021 for $1.05m.

The two cottages passed in are next to each other on Cranmer Square and were for sale as one package in as-is condition. Harcourts agent Jonny Nicholls said he was now negotiating with potential buyers.

The green cottage at 38 Cranmer Square is described as a first generation settler cottage and was built in 1859. It is one of the oldest homes in the central city.

The red cottage at 48 Cranmer Sq was built in the 1870s as a corner shop before being converted to a home.

One of the city’s oldest surviving retail properties, it was once the unofficial tuck shop for the Normal School, which was then across the road.