First-time home buyer in his 20s fends off competition at OneRoof for architect’s stunning All Things Property home

A first-time home buyer in his 20s has snapped up an architectural masterpiece in Auckland’s Glendowie district for $1.455 million.

Realtor Luke Dallow of Barfoot & Thompson said the young man was the only bidder in the room for the Marshall Cook-designed two-bedroom home on West Tamaki Road. However, there were four other parties waiting in the wings, waiting for the property to be handed over.

“What a great little auction this was. We had the right buyer who bought it. He is thrilled. I walked him through it,” Dallow told OneRoof.

The bidding started at $1.4 million and was increased to $1.45 million before pausing for negotiations. The property then came back into space and was put on the market at $1.455 million.

Dallow said the buyer had been looking and saving hard for at least seven weeks. “He’s pushing hard, but he knows it’s going to work out for him in the long run. “He’s going to take in some roommates and just live his life,” he said. “This is a good step in this market. This is the market where things will move and shake.”

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Dallow said his seller, Katrina Hall, was pleased with the auction results.

Hall, the managing director of Context Architects, has a conditional offer on a Gray Lynn property and was able to submit unconditionally thanks to the sale of her property. “It all worked out,” Dallow said.

Hall told OneRoof she was very impressed with Dallow as an agent. “Luke is the hardest working real estate agent I have ever met. He even fixed my fence, oiled doors and those were the things I couldn’t have done on my own.”

Hall had decided to sell her glass and concrete apartment after her 21-year-old actor son, Black Hands star Angus Stevens, moved out. She told OneRoof last week that she didn’t want to be alone and would rather live in an apartment near his home. “I’ll miss home, but I just trust the universe. It works,” she said.

Hall described her home as “beautiful” and “quirky” and a great place for parties and people. “It’s small, but because of the high ceiling we can have big parties here. I work with these amazing creative people. This house is always full of architects, actors, directors and writers,” she told OneRoof.

Despite the use of glass and steel, the house has a tropical feel. Photo / Delivered

The seller says Cook was one in a million and his design made clever use of the small space. Photo / Delivered

The home’s original owners, a Hawaiian/Māori couple, still live next door and, like Hall and Stevens, are very community-oriented. “We were very lucky to have great neighbors,” Hall said. “We have a neighborhood party in our driveway at Christmas time.”

The futuristic house was built by Cook in 1990. He used industrial amounts of concrete and steel, creating a solid yet stylish home. “I never would have bought it if it wasn’t made of concrete,” Hall said, describing Cook as one in a million.

“I am very lucky to be able to live in a space designed by him. When you live in a very cleverly designed architectural house, you can experience all the nuances of the architect. He was so adept at making brilliant use of the small space.”

Cook, one of New Zealand’s greatest architects, died in 2023. In 2010, Te Kāhui Whaihanga from the NZ Institute of Architects awarded him its highest award, the Gold Medal. He had a long-standing interest in housing intensification and terraced housing and led the establishment of the New Zealand Healthy Housing Program in 2001.

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