Despite Auckland being in lockdown for more than a week now, buyer intentions haven't changed.
At Barfoot and Thompson’s virtual auctions this morning almost all the homes on the block were snapped up, with negotiations underway on the properties that passed in.
The standout sale was 8/201 Victoria Avenue, in Remuera. The apartment sold under the virtual hammer for $2.65 million - with three bidders driving the price $750,000 above the 2017 CV.
Barfoot and Thompson auctioneer Murray Smith said the buyers had sold their large family home just last week and wanted to downsize.
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The three-bedroom apartment, marketed by Leila MacDonald, David MacDonald and Michael Bacher, has views to the Orakei Basin, a swimming pool and tennis court and is located in a gated complex on one of Auckland's most sought-after streets.
"It's a very big, flash apartment. It's on one of the best streets in Remuera, across the road from shops and everything is right at your door step," MacDonald said.
She said the level three restrictions had not curbed buyer appetites. "People are 100 percent just as active as they were before."
Smith added: “Online bidding is working fantastically well. The key difference is that last time [at lockdown] the market came to a grinding halt, but not this time.
“Even with two weeks’ lockdown, I’ve gone past my total August auction numbers of last year. People have got a real confidence at what’s going to be happening in 12 months.”
The Remuera apartment has views to Orakei Basin, swimming pool and tennis court in a gated complex. Photo / Supplied
OneRoof records show that the property last sold in October 2003 for just $971,000, handing the vendors a profit, on paper at least, of $1.679 million.
Barfoot and Thompson auction manager Campbell Dunoon said the results today were “not bad for a pandemic”.
“We had on-line bidders registered for all the lots, about 50 per cent bidding themselves on-line the rest through the phone with sales people. It’s fast accepted, a lot more people are comfortable with that now.”
A bungalow on a cross-lease section at 34 Rangiatea Road, Epsom, billed as 'entry level double grammar zone' sold for $1.8 million. Photo / supplied
Dunoon said that as well as top-end buyers, developers hunting for investment land were also out in force.
And the company has one of their biggest auction weeks booked for next week: more than 120 properties will be up for grabs, which is one of the best ever for August, beaten only by a week of 200 auctions in 2016.
“You’ve got August, a health issue, an election: those normally wouldn’t have a positive effect on the market, but it just seems to be continuing confidence from buyers.”
A deceased estate of a 1960s home at 7 Troy Place Glendowie sold under the virtual hammer for $1.56 million. Photo / supplied
Among the other highlights at today's auction was the $1.8 million sale price achieved by a four-bedroom bungalow on a cross lease section at 34 Rangiatea Road, in Epsom. The property, billed as "entry level double grammar zone" by agents Mary Du and Barry Saxon, sold for $100,000 above CV and $200,000 above what it last sold for in 2018.
“For double grammar zone to get a standalone family home, you’ve almost got to be in the $3 millions, so this is a rare buy, it went for way over reserve,” Smith said.
A first home on a cross lease site in the growing east Auckland suburb of Panmure at 34 Tripoli Road, marketed by Aaron Foss, went for $903,000 - well above CV of $740,000. In neighbouring Glendowie, a deceased estate with the original 3-bedroom 1960s home on a prime 733sqm site at 7 Troy Place sold for $1.56 million, $200,000 above CV. It was marketed by Moira and Grant Marshall, and had an incredible 26 registered bidders fighting for the property.
