Real estate agent Blair Haddow knows this two level, two bedroom Grey Lynn house well because he sold it to its current owner six years ago.
“She’s done quite a lot, putting in things like wardrobes and updating the interior with painting," the Bayleys sales agent says.
“It was painted about a year ago inside and out. It’s all insulated.”
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The property, at 52 Sussex Street, is a high-end entry level home for the area and at $1.395m it is great value, Blair says.
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“Gosh yeah, you don’t get much in Grey Lynn for under $1.8m, $1.7m. Even then it’s hard to find those houses, so this is really well-priced.”
The home has two bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs and a separate living room on the ground floor, then the open plan dining area and kitchen leading out to the fully-fenced back yard.
The owner has carried out a lot of work in the back yard, Blair says.
This area was rather “forgotten” by the previous owners but today there is a lush green lawn and there are colourful lemon and lime trees along the fence line.
There is also a fig tree and blueberries, and a garden shed. Next to the shed is space for a table and chairs, and outside the back door is a brick-paved patio.
There is also a spa pool, which the owner is taking but another could be added.
Attached to the kitchen area is a lean-to housing the laundry and a powder room, and at the front of the property is a covered veranda where you can catch the morning sun.
Blair says the house is one of six next to each other dating back to the 1890s.
While the house has been updated and well-maintained, Blair says you could still add value.
The lean-to – probably built to get the bathroom out of the garden in the first part of the modernisation – could be turned into a kitchen/scullery/laundry with doors out to the yard.
In an area where houses are close together, this one has plenty of privacy. There is a church next door which Blair says is very quiet.
The house is not looked in on from all directions, and there is nothing obstructing the northern late sun.
While there is no off-street parking the street is resident-only parking and so the owner is able to park directly in front of the house, he says.
Blair has been selling real estate in Ponsonby and Grey Lynn for 10 years and says the area just gets more desirable.
There has been an increase in empty nesters moving into the “Ponsonby environment”, drawn to the numerous bars and cafes, as are professionals and returning expats.
“We’ve just sold a property in Grey Lynn to a young couple that have come back from living in London, so that’s quite common, because they’re used to the buzz of living in a big city and they come back to Auckland and it’s a bit quieter but Ponsonby’s got a good sort of vibe going on so it seems to be an area that people really love.”
Blair is a local and says he loves that you can walk everywhere.
“The beauty of living around here is when you come home at night you can walk to dinner. You can walk to meet your friends. “
If you order an Uber it’s only a few dollars and arrives almost instantly, plus the public transport is great - and there are plenty of lime scooters around, he says.
Find out more about 52 Sussex Street, Grey Lynn.
