Not a bunker on the inside - Ōmaha landmark listed

This is not your usual beach house; and it’s well known to the locals. Over the years, they have had their own names for it, including the Vault and the Jelly Bean house.

But this is the 443m² Gallery House in Ōmaha, Rodney, designed by Ponting Fitzgerald Architects. And it’s all about what lies beyond - a private retreat from the world, and, as the name suggests, it’s a great place to display art.

That’s because there are no windows on the textured concrete walls along the front and sides of the house. In fact, it’s even tricky finding the front door.

Rather that having windows facing the neighbours, there is a huge inner grassed courtyard, and the rooms are open into this instead.

Passageways on either side of the house lead from the garage and a family room (or fourth bedroom) at the front of the house right down to the expansive living area at the rear of the house. This vast space opens up to the inner courtyard as well, but also out to the rear garden.

The main suite upstairs, which was originally a gallery, is a curved, elliptical volume wrapped in oxidising copper. It now has a sumptuous “Hollywood” bathroom and walk-in robe - and a view out over the reserve.

Architect David Ponting says on his website that the house evolved from the original owners’ “desire for complete privacy, while maximising sunshine and exposure to the south-facing garden”.

As listing agent Di Balich of Precision Real Estate says, it’s not a bunker that you see when you enter, but rather a glass-walled internal courtyard with abundant light, sun and shelter from the wind. There are mature trees, shrubs and grass in the centre. And there’s also privacy at the rear, thanks to a large council reserve that won’t ever be built out.

“The other thing you notice about this house is how well proportioned it is,” Balich says. “And even though it is very Modernist, and may seen edgy, it’s a very comfortable home.”

The huge, open-plan living space blurs the boundaries between inside and out, with the space flowing from the inner sanctum to the lawn on the other side. There’s a galley-style kitchen at one side, designed for easy entertaining.

Balich says the current owners have owned the property for nearly 10 years, but now they have their sights set on Queenstown - they are swapping sand for snow: “They’ve done the beach thing,” she says. “The kids are all in Europe and around, and while the beach is fine, they’re keen to try the snow.”

The property is just four minutes’ walk to the beach, and it’s close to the boat ramp, golf course and walking tracks.

But what price do you put on a house this size on a huge site of 1197m²? “It’s hard to price something this special,” Balich says. Various real estate firms quote values upwards of $5.66m to $6m, and she says anyone looking for a home in this range would do well to have a look.

The property, at 184 Mangatawhiri Rd, Ōmaha, Rodney is for sale by negotiation.

Property market update: Property values in Aotearoa New Zealand edged up by 0.1% in September, breaking a run of five consecutive monthly falls, according to Cotality NZ’s latest hedonic Home Value Index (HVI).

The national median value now sits at $810,141. Properties in Rodney showed a 0.2% increase for the month, bringing the median property value to $1,202, 450. Cotality puts the median property value in Ōmaha at $2,003,539.

Cotality NZ chief property economist, Kelvin Davidson says September’s slight rise is consistent with lower mortgage rates as well as early tentative signs of an economic turnaround and an upward trend in property sales volumes.

“That said, September’s rise in values was clearly marginal, and it’s far too early to conclude that this marks the start of a new, sustained lift. The stock of available listings – while falling – remains relatively high, and caution continues to pervade the market.”

Davidson notes there’s always two sides to the housing market coin: “It’s a good time to be a buyer, provided you can get the finance. In particular, first home buyers remain a strong presence in the market and mortgaged multiple property owners have returned in greater numbers too.”