An increasing number of buyers at the top end of Auckland’s housing market are choosing cool over school, with trendy suburbs in the city’s inner west booming post Covid.
Property values in Ponsonby, Grey Lynn and St Marys Bay have boomed post-Covid, according to the OneRoof-Valocity house price figures, jumping more than 20%, well above the post-Covid lift seen in the city’s desirable double grammar zone suburbs.
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Bayleys agent Edward Pack, who sells in Auckland’s inner-west, says that he is seeing a steady increase of buyers moving west from the likes of Parnell and Remuera, as well as across the Harbour Bridge from Takapuna and Milford.
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“Last year, 45% of my buyers were from outside the inner-west. There’s an extraordinary dynamic here. For many people it’s got a bit more life and there’s a café at the end of every street.”
Pack says that buyers are even making inroads into neighbouring Herne Bay, still New Zealand’s most expensive suburb and home to exclusive waterfront real estate.
41 Lawrence Street, in Herne Bay, Auckland, sold for $3.8 million under the hammer. Photo / Supplied
“There are just over 1000 homes in the whole of Herne Bay, compared to 10,000 in Remuera. And 90 of them – nearly 10% - are waterfront. You can’t get that in any other suburb, nowhere else in New Zealand probably,” Pack says.
He adds: “I sell to a lot of people who aren’t active buyers. They won’t be looking for house, but they’ll see the story in the Herald and go ‘wow, that’s a special home’, and decide to make a move. And a lot of them are prepared to purchase before they sell.”
It’s not just Aucklanders who are buying. A quarter of his sales last year were to expats returning from Australia, Singapore, New York and London.
“A lot of them weren’t planning on coming home, but Covid changed their lives. A lot purchased sight unseen from abroad, I spent a lot of different times of the day face-timing them through a property to make them comfortable,” Pack says.
On the market: 25 Prosford Street, in Ponsonby, Auckland. Photo / Supplied
Most of the expats with whom he has been dealing have been looking for properties in the $2 million to $5 million price range, and have been extremely competitive at auctions. “In-person buyers are often hard to beat [at auction] because they’ve been through a house and picked out the bedrooms. So for expats to beat locals on price demonstrates how much they wanted to come home,” he says.
Sales under the hammer last month include $4.3 million for a renovated house in 19 Deadwood Street, in St Marys Bay, and $3.8 million four-bedroom home at 41 Lawrence Street, in Herne Bay, which had been billed as having development potential.
Buyers looking in the inner west are usually bowled over by the architectural innovations, high-quality renovations and stylish interiors of the homes there, although some buyers are happy to buy a do-up if the location is right.
“If it's their dream project for the next 10 or 15 years, sure, they sometimes spend a little bit much. But then time does look after that when they come to sell, and people will stay a little longer because they like the lifestyle. It’s an opportunity to get exactly what they want out of it.”
He adds: “People are a bit more adventurous now, there are some amazing people doing quite amazing renovations that push the boundaries, which is awesome.”
Pack points to a property he is bringing to auction at 25 Prosford Street, in Ponsonby, which boasts a renovation by Jones Architects that tucks a pool, outdoor fireplace and courtyard on the back of a typical inner-city 410sqm site, with a luxury master suite on a second floor.
Buyers are excited by the striking architecture of 16 Pelham Street, in Point Chevalier. Photo / Supplied
Another top to toe renovation of a house at 16 Pelham Avenue, in nearby Point Chevalier, is also pulling in qualified appointment-only buyers because of its architecture.
“Architectural names certainly add a cachet. People just feel it, they can’t put their finger on what makes it special, but it’s a feeling an element of intuition.”
He is also fielding a number of enquiries from buyers and sellers looking to make off-market deals for specific homes.
“They act in days, and they’re prepared to pay a great price so secure the property. The sellers prefer the discretion. Budgets can go anywhere from $2 million to $20 million. There are plenty out there, but those are the ones you’ll never hear about.”
