A three-bedroom villa in the waterfront Auckland suburb of Devonport sold under the hammer for $2.03 million after little more than a week on the market.
The sale of 3/6 Wairoa Road was brought forward after a buyer put in a pre-auction offer of $1.775 million within two days of the listing going live.
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The renovated house, just a street away from Cheltenham Beach, was one of three Devonport villas on the block at Bayleys’ auction on April 8. All three had their auctions brought forward.
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It was bought by a downsizing couple and the speed of the sale suggests the market is still quite hot in the city’s more desirable suburbs.
The sale price was $680,000 more than what the property last changed hands for in 2017 and $255,000 above the reserve.
Bayleys’ Linda Simmons, the listing agent for 3/6 Wairoa Road and one of the other villas at the auction, told OneRoof that buyers were afraid of missing out and jumping between auctions.
“At the moment people are hopping from one to the next one. There’s a lot of anxiety out there,” she said.
Simmons said the three bidders who missed out on 3/6 Wairoa Road jumped straight into the bidding on neighbouring 20 Rutland Road.
20 Rutland Road, in Devonport, was bought by an expat couple for $2.92million. Photo / Supplied
The four-bedroom renovated villa was snapped up by expat couple for $2.92 million – more than $1 million above the 2017 rating valuation.
Simmons said the buyers, who had moved from the UK, had been hunting for a home for six months.
“They had been looking for some time all over the city but when you’re coming from London, Devonport is a dream come true. It’s also an extremely good buy compared to houses in Ponsonby or Grey Lynn, where prices have gone crazy.”
The vendors had decided to bring the auction one week forward, without accepting a pre-auction offer, after three buyers from Australia showed interest in the house.
“It is very rare and even the auctioneer was like, ‘what?’ But it’s all about speed; the minute buyers are interested, they’ll want to move quickly or they’ll move on,” she said.
15 Abbotsford Terrace, in Devonport, sold for $2.65 million. Photo / Supplied
The vendors, who had been in the house since 2008, were emotional in the auction room and were visibly happy that their home was going to returning Kiwis.
“Seeing tears of joy makes me so happy and that’s why I do it,” Simmons said.
The third Devonport villa on the block, 15 Abbotsford Terrace, sold for the pre-action offer of $2.65 million. The five-bedroom two-storey home marketed by Bayleys agents Jemma Glancy and Victoria Mules fetched $750,000 above its rating valuation and almost $2 million above what it had last sold for in 2012.
Also selling at the Bayleys auction was a three-bedroom townhouse at 3/34 Clarence Street, in Devonport. It was snapped up for $2.645million, way above its $1.675 rating valuation, with competitive bidding starting at $1.8million.
And a cliff-top family home with four bedrooms on 66A Cliff Road, in nearby Torbay, sold for $2.95 million after one bid of $2.6million followed by negotiations.
