Spring auctions featuring houses from Three’s phenomenally popular The Block NZ have become an annual must-see on TV DIY show fans’ calendars and for the concept to work, a handful of house-hunters need to take things a step further and actually decide to bid for their favourite property.
Ray White Real Estate has listed the four townhouses in Frances Bryers Road at trendy, up-and-coming Hobsonville Point in West Auckland.
Over the past 12 weeks the four teams have captivated viewers as they’ve struggled to bring their houses to life under immense pressure in terms of the skills required and the timing involved in working to production deadlines.
The townhouses are situated right amongst a raft of facilities in what’s essentially a brand new town, carefully-planned and extremely well- resourced with decile 10 schools, shops, supermarkets, cafes, and a very popular weekend farmers’ market.
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- TEAM ORANGE — CLAIRE AND AGNI'S HOUSE: 21 Frances Bryers Rd
- TEAM BLUE- BEN AND TOM'S HOUSE: 23 Frances Bryers Rd
- TEAM PURPLE — CHLO AND EM'S HOUSE: 25 Frances Bryers Rd
- TEAM YELLOW — AMY AND STU'S HOUSE: 27 Frances Bryers Rd
Needless to say, the procedure around buying a Block house is generally a bit different from a normal property transaction.
Potential buyers could certainly have joined with thousands of curious fans at the hectic open day, but it would have been hard to get a decent look, so agents have been conducting private tours for seriously interested parties, who in turn are doing due diligence on the houses. Of course there is a significant added bonus for purchasers as the properties are up for grabs with all their contents included.
Amy Anderson, Ray White’s general manager at Hobsonville says that with the auction date looming ever closer, time is running out, and interested parties will need to get cracking with arranging inspections, dealing with their lawyers, and of course, getting finance all approved and lined up.
She says that the listing agents are all available to guide auction-day buyers and provide them with all the information they need.
While most properties that are set to go to auction can be sold prior to that date if an offer is accepted by the vendor, Block properties have to change hands at -or soon after the auction, or the whole experience wouldn’t be so exciting for the TV audience.
When the big night arrives, the process is carefully and sensitively orchestrated by The Block’s production team.
The auction is held in a closed room, and apart from Block cameras, media aren’t allowed in.
As everybody knows, buying a house is a stressful event – more so when it is televised, and bidders tend to want space and privacy, with some even bidding by phone so that nobody can see them committing major amounts of money.
The 2018 auctions will be especially interesting in terms of prices achieved in an Auckland property market that is starting to level out, after years of runaway growth.
Amy Anderson says that this year’s houses provide an excellent opportunity for buyers to enter the market, knowing that they’re purchasing quality properties which are not only well-presented, but well-built too.
