Home with super yacht vibes and volcanic views on the market for the first time

The first thing you’ll notice when you look at the listing for 3-5 Hanene St, in Auckland’s St Heliers is the little putting green, right off the upper living room. The next thing you’ll notice is the incredible hillside sprawl of this five bed, four bath, 1212m² mansion.

Ranged over two titles and four levels, it was built to be the forever home for a large, extended family, says listing agent Brendan Goodwin of Uniq.

Sadly, however, the grandparents died before the home was completed, and the owners decided to move to a smaller property down the hill, and pass the home on to an owner that can make use of all the space.

“I've been lucky enough to go back to the project over the past five years and every time I walk into that main living space, it feels like I'm on a super yacht,” Goodwin says. "It never gets old. It's incredible."

With its commanding views over the Waitematā Harbour to Rangitoto, the home does have a high-end cruise-liner feel to it. But there’s nothing boat-ish about the interior. If anything, it has more in common with a luxury resort somewhere balmy and exotic, like Thailand.

The entranceway to the home continues the resort vibe, with lush palm trees and ginger flowers.

Inside, the home is divided into two wings, connected by a glassed-in corridor. The lower level of the home is a self-contained suite for guests, extended family, staff, or, if you need less space, yourself, while you rent the rest of the home out.

"You drive into the garage, you're on the main living floor level, which is where you see the dining room. Then one floor up, you've got the office and the big master suite. So, you can just live in those two zones if you want.

"Then it flexes to become a much bigger property with [additional bedrooms], the cinema, the pavilion, and the putting green."

The owners were inspired by Richard Neutra’s Kauffman desert house - evident in the crazy paving and rockery, as well as the extensive indoor-outdoor flow of the home, and floor to ceiling glass. The design was by Michael Cooper of MCooper Architects, with landscaping by Deb Hardy of Deb Hardy Gardens.

Despite its size and quality, Goodwin reckons the home is easy care. Unlike many substantial homes that have large gardens, this one has been designed and planted to take care of itself.

"You could leave that property probably for three months and come back and it would look exactly the same. There's no big swimming pool maintenance to worry about."

While there is no pool, there is water, thanks to an extensive, exotic rockery garden, with a water feature.

The other key outdoor feature is the putting green.

Golfing features seem to be taking over the space once reserved for tennis courts in high-end homes. As the demographic buying homes at this end of the market tends to be wealthier and older, putting greens, golf courses, or access to a golf club are seen as a critical bonus.

Several homes linked to golf courses have come to market in the last couple of years, such as The Residences at picturesque Wairakei Golf and Sanctuary, near Taupō.

Sir Richard Hadlee’s Canterbury home, which came on the market in 2024, backed onto a golf course. Hadlee could ride a golf cart from his home to the links each day. It sold in October 2024 for $1,950,000.

Home owners who have created their own golf courses at their homes are also surprisingly popular. There’s one in Takaka, which is currently on the market, one in Taranaki that featured in NZ House and Garden magazine, and one in Northland that was featured on Stuff in 2016.

The late Sir Michael Hill famously built a 6600m golf course around his Arrowtown home. The course quickly became a must-do experience for keen golfers from around the world, and has hosted the New Zealand Open in the past.

Now a private member’s club, the home has 18-hole and 9-hole golf courses, a Mid-century-style clubhouse and a six-suite luxury lodge with a nightly rate of $38,000.

A lush property in Mahurangi East, which came on the market in July 2025 included a four hole putting green off the master bedroom.

The putting green at 3-5 Hanene St, was a playful addition, next to the entertainment conservatory overlooking the cliff designed to “not only add interest, but accessibility and comfort”.

Goodwin believes the house will “naturally sit at the higher end of the market” in terms of who is likely to buy the home.

“Whether it's a local buyer or someone under the new AIP program, it's hard to know for sure," he says. "But I think the quality, the position and its overall appeal places it at that end of the market."

The home even has its own website, 3and5hanene.com and is for sale by tender which closes on November 26. The CV is $14 million.