Auckland’s downsizing baby-boomers are comfortably forking out big sums for high-end apartments and townhouses in the city.
Bayleys agent David Rainbow said that while Aucklanders may have been reluctant in the past to embrace apartment living, recent sales showed they were readily warming to the idea.
READ MORE: Find out if your suburb is rising or falling
“It’s a big decision to move from the big family house to an apartment. But now people are not even blinking an eye at the price points of $3 million or more,” he said.
Start your property search
“They understand that things like [monthly contributions] to the body corporate sinking fund are actually less than what they’d spend on big maintenance bills for a stand-alone house. It’s all taken care of.”
Last week, one of Rainbow’s listings, a three-bedroom apartment at Broadway Park, 38 James Cook Crescent, in Remuera, sold for more than $3 million.
“These apartments rarely come on to the market,” Rainbow said. “I can count on one hand how many have sold in the last year. A lot of people have been there since day one, 20 years ago.”
An apartment in the tightly held Broadway Park sold for more than $3 million at auction. Photo / Supplied
Rainbow, who lives in an apartment in the neighbourhood himself, said he had noticed a real shift in the downsizer market since Broadway Park was built 20 years ago. Back then, he said, many people would have resisted the idea of an apartment.
“Then their friends move into apartments; they walk in and see the view and how beautifully presented they are.”
Waterfront Kohimarama is sought after, with buyers paying $3.06 million under the hammer for 1/287 Tamaki Drive. Photo / Supplied
Fellow Bayleys agent Gary Wallace said apartments in Auckland’s Eastern Bays suburbs were in high demand right now.
“Particularly quality buildings,” he said. “People love the family activity, watching the action outside their windows, so it’s perfect for downsizers.”
One of Wallace’s listing in the area, 1/287 Tamaki Drive, fetched $3.06 million under the hammer, with three phone bidders driving the price $735,000 above CV.
The apartment in the iconic 1980s building in Kohimarama was a magnet for downsizers who wanted space, a good view and easy access to cafes and shops.
Downsizing is also a relative term. Another Wallace listing, a five-bedroom townhouse at 4/139 Paritai Drive, in Orakei , sold under the hammer for $4.16 million - comfortably above its reserve of $3.95 million and more than $1 million above CV.
“People selling up big family homes want generous spaces with standalone aspects. A good address helps,” Wallace said. “It’s very property-specific. A Kohi buyer wants waterfront in the eastern suburbs - nothing else will do."
