- A young Auckland family nearly doubled their money after selling a renovated Avondale bungalow for $1.099m.
- The property attracted significant interest from first-home buyers, with 40 bids during a four-minute auction.
- The property was purchased for $620,000 in 2014, and a new bathroom and kitchen had been installed since then.
A young Auckland family heading to the South Island almost doubled their money after “super cute” first-home buyers went head-to-head for their renovated bungalow.
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The three-bedroom home Wingate Street, Avondale, sold under the hammer for $1.099 million – $250,000 above the RV and $479,000 more than what the vendors paid in 2014.
Some 26 buyers registered to bid at Wednesday’s Barfoot & Thompson auction. Bidding opened at $900,000 and quickly rose in mainly increments of $1000.
More than 40 bids were placed during four minutes of tense action. At one point, Barfoot & Thompson auctioneer Marian Tolich told one bidder they “weren’t quick enough” after different bid amounts were called out at once.
The first-home buyers loved the well-presented home that needed nothing done to it. Photo / Supplied
Listing agent Ryan Harding said some of those who turned up to the auction didn’t even get a chance to bid.
The successful buyer had been looking for three years and told Harding this was the first home she had loved.
The agent said his heart went out to the underbidder, who had been extremely invested in the property and had attended every open home and carried out a lot of research on the area.
Harding launched the property two weeks ago and had been shocked at the amount of interest it attracted.
During the campaign, 145 groups viewed the property, including 28 who viewed it twice. The first open home was held on a Thursday and 27 groups showed up, which was 16 groups more than his previous record for a mid-week viewing. “It was exceptional.”
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Harding said most of the people looking were first-home buyers. Some hadn’t even been to an open home before. “They were super cute.”
A total 15 building inspections, ranging between $350 for a verbal to $600 for a written report, were carried out ahead of Wednesday’s auction. There were also four registered valuations.
“They were doing due diligence like crazy,” he said, adding that there were now 14 people who paid for building reports who missed out on the house.
The vendors, who have two young children, were shifting to Christchurch to be closer to family and had already bought their next home. They were “over the moon” with the result, Harding said.
The kitchen and bathroom had been upgraded in the last two years. Photo / Supplied
Harding said his strategy of listing the property early to beat the summer competition had paid off for the owners. They had also spent a lot of time and money making sure the house was extremely well-presented before it hit the market.
“I think now the interest rates have dropped, people have more confidence.”
He said both the vendors and the buyer were extremely lovely people and even had a photo together after the auction.
“These were good people doing the right thing. Buying the home and selling the home for the right reasons and it’s not always that way.”
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