A single carpark in New Zealand's tallest apartment tower has sold under the hammer for a record-breaking $288,000.
Five buyers fought over the right to park their car at the Pacifica in central Auckland, with bidding starting a sky-high $80,000.
The carpark is New Zealand's most expensive, beating the four-year-old record of $265,000 for a spot in the Quay Regency apartment building on Auckland's Quay Street.
The listing agent for the Pacifica carpark, Barfoot and Thompson's Annie Xu, told OneRoof that only buyers who owned an apartment in the Pacifica could take part in yesterday's auction.
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She said that not every apartment in the Pacifica came with a carpark, and many apartment owners wanted extra carparks.
"Everyone who buys in The Pacifica has lots of money. They want a carpark. The Pacifica only has valet parking, so they then have to pay $5200 a year for that service. It's not optional," she said.
The carparks in the Pacifica were originally being sold off the plan for $130,000.
Xu said her vendors had bought a $2.36m three-bedroom apartment with a carpark, but opted to ditch their car - and the carpark.
"They don't want to drive a car. That's how you live in a city, so they didn't need the parking," she said.
The Pacifica is 57-storeys high and is home to the country’s most expensive real estate listing, a 1219sqm super-penthouse which is on the market for $42.8m and comes with the right to buy six valet carparks in the building.
Barfoot & Thompson central auctioneer Murray Smith said that jaws dropped around the auction room as the price of the carpark swept past the reserve of $165,000.
"Three bidders stopped at $180,000, but two bidders really wanted it and just kept going. They fought and fought and fought," he said.
"It shows how bound to our cars we are. Even in the central city, people still want carparks."
A two-bedroom house in Riverton, Southland, sold this week for just over $200,000. Photo / Supplied
The cost of parking in New Zealand is climbing fast. According to research from OneRoof's data partner Valocity, the median sale price of a carpark in the Auckland CBD in 2020 was $95,000 - up from $87,000 in 2019.
The Pacifica carpark cost more than the price of many houses around New Zealand. Last week, a two-bedroom house on a quarter acre section in Riverton, Southland, sold for $210,000 at auction.
The listing agent, Bayleys' Jaimee McCabe, couldn't stop laughing when OneRoof told her about the Auckland carpark and was a bit lost for words. "That's ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous," she said.
McCabe said the entry-level Riverton house had appealed to first home buyers as a do-up. It sold for $65,000 above its 2018 rating valuation.
Asked what she thought that said about the Auckland property market, McCabe said it showed just how much demand there was for property everywhere.
But she suggested that the buyer would be better off moving to Southland. "They can come down to Southland and get a beautiful home for $500,000 and you get a garage and a carpark."
- Additional reporting by Diana Clement
