Four letters make all the difference to the value of a property, as Auckland agents Dylan Tracey and Helen Lam demonstrated this week.
The pair brokered a record-breaking sale on a property at 12 Tawera Road, in Auckland's Greenlane, which sold at pre-auction for $3.52 million, nearly $1 million over the 2017 council valuation.
The sale followed on the heels of another record sale brokered by Tracey and Lam of the house next door. 10 Tawera Road achieved an astonishing $1.51 million over CV at the end of last year. That sale, for $6.11 million, prompted the owner of 12 Tawera Road to get in contact with Tracey and Lam and put his home of 40 years on the market.
So why the high prices? Both homes sit on large sections and are zoned THAB - terrace housing and apartment buildings - under the Auckland Unitary Plan. That means developers can stand to make good profits by putting in multiple units or higher density housing.
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The $995,000 premium earned at Tawera Road set a record for price per square metre, for the 857sqm site. Tracey says there were 50 people at the auction including registered bidders and neighbouring homeowners keen to see the action.
12 Tawera Road, Greenlane boasts a large section, as does the property next door at 10 Tawera Road, pictured on left.
“THAB zoning is extremely valuable and some people don't know the true value of their property under the Auckland Unitary Plan,” says Tracey, adding that other factors come into play to push up prices on the most desirable plots.
“It depends on each property: their unitary plan zoning, if the land is flat or on a slope, if there is good access to underground services, if they are near local amenities and in good school zones.
“It pays to speak with someone who has a proven track record and experience in selling large parcels of land.”
Both Tawera properties, on large flat sections – 12 on 857sqm, 10 on 1765sqm – are in double grammar zone, so well-designed developments have a ready-made market.
“There's a huge demand for all types of property at the moment, including land for development. There is a real appetite to purchase,” says Lam.
10 Tawera Road in Auckland's Greenlane sold for $6.11 million last year - $1.51 million over CV. Photo / Supplied
Tracey adds that it will be interesting to see if the election later in the year will affect the market, but right now there is real competition in the market, not just for land, which is driving the prices higher and achieving great results for vendors.
Developers have been utilising the Auckland Unitary Plan for the past few years to buy properties with scope for development. Tracey says there is a spillover now to other parts of the city. He successfully marketed two other properties with development potential.
30 Omahu Rd, in neighbouring Remuera, sold last Thursday at auction for $4.8 million. The 1363sqm property, which has a CV of $3.8 million, is in the less dense zone of mixed housing suburban, but the council value is in the land, not the property. It last sold in November 2014 for $3.04 million. A property on 512 Sandringham Road in mixed housing urban zone also sold this month for $2m, $300,000 above its CV.
Across on the west, Ray white agents Scott and Chloe Withers sold a land parcel at Westend Road, Herne Bay, for $2.5 million, a price well above the appraised value and auction reserve. Although less than CV of $2.675 million, the price reflects the value of the mixed housing suburban zoning, a rare find in the suburb.
“In Herne Bay there is only a limited amount of land unlocked under the unitary plan, there is not the same amount of urban density here,” says Scott Withers.
“It’s a flat property, with resource consent to retain the villa and build two townhouses, so there’s a significant holding income of $65,000 a year while you submit consents.”
Withers says they are marketing another property at 8 William Denny Avenue in Westmere on over 1000sq m which offers similar appeal – flat land with a pleasant house to live in while the paperwork to subdivide and build goes through.
