Buyers looking for homes in Auckland's top suburbs are heading to auctions fully prepared to ignore CVs when bidding.
In double grammar zone Remuera, a luxury four-bed bungalow at 21 Raumati Road sold under the hammer this week for $4.02 million - $1.62 million above its 2017 council valuation.
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Ray White Epsom owner Heather Walton, who marketed the property with Ryan Teece, said that in the space of two weekends 80 people came through the open homes, most of them stunned by the quality of the renovation the owners had completed.
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The eventual buyer, who just sold their own home, was determined to secure the home and had brought the auction forward with an offer of $4 million.
Walton says: “Buyers respect a good renovation. They know that someone else has done the work.”
She says she had strong interest in a similarly well presented at nearby 31 Sonia Avenue. The five-bedroom bungalow fetched $3.64 million under the hammer - $865,000 above CV. Seventy-two groups had viewed the property, with six bidders registering for the auction, three of whom were “really engaged”.
A renovated property on the cliffs of Riddell Road, in Glendowie, sold for $3.25 million - $875,000 above CV. Photo / Supplied
“We expected we’d have a three in the price, but we didn’t know how far,” Walton says, adding that the underbidders from both Remuera properties are now viewing another three listings of similar quality - “some of them have been in the market for a while.”
Fellow Ray White Epsom agent Ross Hawkins says the market has wrong-footed many assumptions around CVs. “CVs get completely shattered every time. They are no indication of value these days,” he says.
Hawkins says it is ironic that Auckland Council postponed updating CVs this year. The initial fear was that values would drop in the wake of Covid-19 but instead house prices have strengthened since the end of May (quite a turnaround for Auckland, which was just 12 months ago emerging from a slump that saw houses frequently sell below CV).
Hawkins says that many houses in higher price brackets would have made improvements since the 2017 valuations, which would account for disparity between prices and CVs right now.
Case in point: this week, Hawkins and his colleague Caleb Rufer sold a 334sqm architect-designed house at 783 Riddell Road, in Glendowie, for $3.25 million - $875,000 above CV.
Interest in the home was high, with more 50 groups viewing the luxury cedar-clad house that was fully rebuilt six years ago. Five bidders registered for the auction, and Hawkins says they all knew what it was worth.
A five-bedroom bungalow at 31 Sonia Avenue Remuera sold at auction for $3.64 million. Photo / Supplied
“Buyers are generally street-wise, they’ve shopped around,” he says, adding that those who sit on the fence about paying the higher prices are missing out.
“They’re living in the past about where they see value. And auction prices are completely blowing away appraisals too because they are going completely north of that.”
Hawkins says buyers aren't taking too much notice of the election either as the poll is just insignificant compared to what’s happening in the world today.
The renovated villa at 12 Ladies Mile, Remuera, sold for $3.11 million. Photo / Supplied
Also passing the $3 million mark was a four-bedroom renovated villa at 12 Ladies Mile, Remuera, one of the three original ladies’ houses on the strip. Bidding on the house, sold by Barfoot and Thompson agent Alex Baker, started at $2 million before selling under the hammer for $3.11 million - $760,000 over CV. OneRoof records show it last sold 13 years ago for $1.191 million.
The sale price of $3.04 million for 27 O'Neill Street, in Ponsonby, is a record for the street. Photo / Supplied
On the other side of the city, a Ponsonby villa at 27 O’Neill Street sold for more than $3 million, creating the record for the street. It was another meticulous renovation, completed only earlier this year.
Bayleys agent Luke McCaw, who marketed the property, said it attracted 140 buyer groups through the open homes, a mix of young professionals, ex-pats and downsizers.
He said no one expected the price to pass the $3 million mark, as bidding only started at $2 million, just below the 2017 CV of $2.2 million.
“There’s still a shortage. Supply is not meeting demand," McCaw says.
“But listings enquiries are increasing dramatically as people see the results of auctions."
