Boomers now embrace eco-bach Passivhaus beach houses
LONDON: Boomers are driving up the cost of beachside retreats by pumping money into Passivhaus and eco-bach upgrades.
An eco-bach overlooking Piha beach has hit the market with expectations it will sell for $6 million.
The four-bedroom luxury home is New Zealand’s first fully certified Passivhaus EnerPhit renovation.
Aucklanders Bjorn and Michelle Hilke bought the pe-renovated property at 124a Seaview Road in 2018 for just over $1.6m and set about creating a high-end “healthy home”.
They engaged award-winning architecture firm Sang Architects to give the property a green makeover.
Simultaneously polished and raw, the home is a dramatic realisation of a sustainable home ethos, said the couple.
“Our primary objective was to build a healthy home and address it in all aspects of the rebuild. It was always going to be an eco-build. That’s why the PassivHaus concept stood out.
“There was a beautiful overlap between PassivHaus and healthy home principles,” explains Bjorn.
The German building concept that optimises air, light, sound, water and thermal properties to produce the healthiest and highest quality home possible was the ideal solution for the couple.
The concept is one Sang Architects were au fait with, which made them a natural choice for the redesign of the home.
Bjorn also credits the project’s builder, Terry Bryers, for “delivering craftmanship second to none. His attention to detail is something quite special.”
Built-in solar battery storage, electric car charging, a water bore into the Waitakere Ranges Basalt, French Saint-Gobain glazing, insulation and an airtight building envelope which ensures natural climate control – these are a few of the thoughtful and precise elements of the home, which all the while maintains a very easy and hospitable quality.
Set over 465sqm, the building incorporates four bedrooms and three bathrooms, the master separated on the first floor.
Cedar sarked ceilings and solid oak flooring throughout produces a warm and enveloping effect.
The ebony powder coated steel and oak kitchen is fitted with Miele and Liebherr appliances and, as with the cabinetry throughout, is custom-made and accented with anodised black aluminum detail.
The open plan living, kitchen and lounge open onto the home’s lanai, with a Johnson and Cousins SKY louvre cover and an outlook to Piha’s extraordinary beauty.
“I love sitting in the lanai nestled in amongst the treetops. The sweeping vista captures the raw beauty of mother nature in all her forms,” Bjorn says.
“A divine proportionality between the sky, the ocean, Lion Rock and lush bush clad valleys and ridge lines replete with volcanic cliffs and stands of kauri and nikau. My idea of bliss,” says Bjorn.
The listing agent, Corey Knapp, of Premium Real Estate, says the property is one of a kind. “Never before has a home of this magnitude been offered in Piha, we are literally breaking ground and paving the way of the future,” he says.
Knapp expects the property to sell for around $6 million, which would be a record for Piha, and argues that the west coast beach suburb is the “new Ponsonby”.
“The discerning buyer for this home will recognise its unique subtle bespoke qualities and will have a desire to be surrounded by the energy that the west coast provides.”
Demand for homes in Piha has been exceptionally strong, with the suburb’s average property value rising 32.2% ($333,000) in the last 12 months to almost $1.6m, but some homes have been selling well excess of that number.
But Ray White agent Ross Hawkins says there is also a growing market for some of Piha’s “original-state” baches.
Hawkins is marketing a four-bedroom 1950s bach on Marine Parade and expects a young family to pick up the house for the next generation.
“The vendors bought the bach 40 years ago from the original owners. It’s never been on the market before. They did replace the long-drop with flushing toilets but otherwise it’s in its original state.”
Hawkins said that waterfront properties in Piha, Te Henga and Muriwai are all tightly held, but Piha is the most popular because it is closest to Auckland city.
The Marine Parade property has a CV of $1.035m, but Hawkins won’t be drawn on what it is likely to sell for.
“You see these old baches hidden in the hills – these are not Auckland houses by the sea. People often tell me they regret bowling them to build something flash, and then a few years later say ‘why didn’t I just keep the old place? There’s a real emotional attachment out here.”
