When it comes to dilapidated villas, location is everything.
In Auckland, a run-down, 120-year-old home that was advertised as desperately needing some love and affection sold for $1.14 million.
The house at 10 Buchanan Street, in Kingsland, was bought by a young couple who lived on the same street and who saw the home as the perfect fixer-upper.
The four-bedroom house had been in the same family for more than 50 years, and even though it sold under its 2017 rating valuation and the suburb's median property value, the capital gain on the home will have been substantial.
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Ray White agent Tim Hawes, who marketed the house, said: “The interest we had on this property was almost unbelievable.
"In the first 10 days of being listed we had over 10,000 views online - double the amount we'd usually see during a normal sales campaign."
10 Buchanan Street sold for $1.14 million. Photo / Supplied
While it's not uncommon for run down villas in central Auckland to sell for well over $1 million, 10 Buchanan Street's sale price is notable because it was achieved just two months after the housing market was put on hold as a result of Covid-19.
It's even more remarkable when compared to the sale of a similar sized run down villa in the South Island. On Friday, a 100-year-old fixer-upper at 29 Ontario Street, in Gore, sold for $266,000 under the hammer, just under the town's median property value.
29 Ontario Street, in Gore, sold at auction for $266,000. Photo / Supplied
The 100-year-old three-bedroom home marketed by Bayleys agent Julie Mitchell was damaged by floods earlier this year. The listing makes clear that the sale includes a credit from the insurance company "to reinvigorate this beautiful villa".
The big difference between 29 Ontario Street and 10 Buchanan Street, beyond location, is land size. The buyer of the Gore do-up gets a 2809sqm a backyard while the new owners of 10 Buchanan Street has to make do with just 339sqm.
For Auckland renovators who missed out on Buchanan Street, there is another opportunity that's just hit the market in neighbouring Grey Lynn. UP agents Jennifer Temm Munns and David Simons are marketing 40 Dryden Street as a classic fixer-upper.
Bring your architect: 40 Dryden Street, in Grey Lynn, Auckland is on the market for sale. Photo / Supplied
The two-bedroom 100-year-old villa has a 2017 rating valuation of $1.575 million - of which just $100,000 is for the dilapidated house - and goes to auction on June 16.
