A nail-biter of an auction of a two-bedroom bach on Waiheke Island proved to be a master-class in bidding techniques.
Four buyers duked it out last week to secure 33 Miro Road, in Palm Beach, driving the price to $2.176 million - $26,000 above the reserve and more than $1 million above the 2017 CV.
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Bidding on the stylish home started at what Bayleys national auction manager Conor Patton called a "optimistic” $1.4 million and then quickly rose in jumps of $100,000 to $1.8 million.
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The early bidders were then trumped by a call of $2 million, the first bid from a cool and calm couple on the floor.
“We should have started there,” Patton joked. “Nobody listens to me - it’s just like at home.”
Humour helped the back and forth between a buyer on the phone and bidders in the room until proceedings paused at $2.1 million for negotiations with the vendor.
The bach was finally declared on the market at $2.15 million and the auction lurched back into action.
Thirteen bids later and a very pleased late-bidding couple secured the bach as they’re own for $2.176 million.
33 Miro Road was stylishly presented, above, and had great sea views, below. Photos / Supplied
The house is a rare find on the island – stunning sea views, within walking distance of the beach, stylish décor and great outdoor spaces, including a fireplace.
The listing agent, Bayleys’ Mandy Brown, said it was absolutely gorgeous – “a 1950s-character bach but modern inside”.
She had 85 groups through the property during the three-week campaign, “nearly all of them looking for a holiday, rather than permanent, home”.
She said rating valuations on the island were “so far out of whack”, and had no impact on buyer price expectations.
“The bidding just shows how competitive the market is. The desire to own a bach is very strong and auctions are delivering,” she said, adding that Palm Beach had the lowest turnover of properties on Waiheke Island (33 Miro Road last changed hands in 2008 for $707,500).
“People only let go when there’s a change of circumstance or the kids have all grown,” Brown said.
66 West Harbour Drive, in West Harbour, Auckland, was snapped up for just under $1 million. Photo / Supplied
The slate of Auckland properties for sale at Bayleys’ auction on Wednesday, the day after the Government’s housing announcement, attracted strong interest from buyers, with prices ranging from under $1 million to more than $3 million.
A starter home at 66 West Harbour Drive, in West Harbour, sold for $905,000 after bidding from two young couples while a new townhouse at 55B Kelmarna Avenue, in Herne Bay, was picked up for $1.975 million after a brief negotiation, and a five-bedroom nearly new home on a small cross-lease site at 690E Mount Eden Road, in Mount Eden, fetched $3.05 million.
The next day, bidding was bolder for properties at the top end of town: a Parnell cottage sold for $3.3 million, a striking modern build in Remuera fetched $4.405 million and a classic Kiwi brick and tile home in Farm Cove was snapped up for $2.55 million.
