In a sign of what Block contestants can expect when their homes finally go to auction on Saturday, a luxury townhouse in a nearby street sold under the hammer today for $3.63 million.
The four-bedroom new-build on Point Chevalier Road, just 18 minutes' walk from the four Block houses on Huia Road, in Point Chevalier, Auckland, was snapped up after strong bidding at Ray White's online auction.
Bidding started at a high $3m, and the house was on the market at $3.5m. The property had a 2017 CV of just over $1m before the new home was built.
The listing agent, Ray White's Derek Von Sturmer, said: "That fourth bedroom makes all the difference. There's a lack of large family homes and for many local community buyers, their families are growing. A big house on a big section is unachievable, so local buyers see the value in a smaller section, right next to the park and beach," he said.
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Von Sturmer said the buyers were a local family, familiar with the value of the quiet, park end of Point Chevalier Road, knowing that it wasn't a major through road. "But now there are six other people who all have over $3m, we could sell another six of these."
Von Sturmer also sold a four-bedroom bungalow on the same road as the Block houses for $2.85 million - almost double its 2017 CV.
The property had a pre-auction offer on it within 10 days of hitting the market. "There were four bidders, but they didn't get a look-in," he said.
"It shows how strong the pre-auction offer was."
Von Sturmer added: "Prices are going up so fast we can't even tell people when we appraise their properties where they might land.
This bungalow on Huia Road, in Point Chevalier, Auckland attracted strong bids. Photo / Supplied
"Buyers are saying 'we really need a home, I've over it, I'll just pay another $200,000'. The Huia buyers had missed out on six or seven auctions before. They were so over it."
The Block homes will be sold on Saturday at a private auction open to registered bidders only - but the sale prices and the show's winners won't be announced until the season finale airs on Three on 7pm, Sunday November 14.
No Block NZ home has cracked the $2m barrier, and while a sale held during a city-wide lockdown would in normal circumstances spell disaster, Auckland's booming housing market suggest otherwise. The latest OneRoof house price figures show the average property value in Point Chevalier hit $2.195m at the end of October up 4.8% ($101,000) in the last three months and up 25.9% ($451,000) on October last year.
A record-breaking end to the ninth season of the reality TV show will be the fairy tale ending it deserves. Filming of the show started at the start of 2020 and was halted when Covid-19 struck New Zealand.
It took a full year before the teams picked up their tools again and the show returned to TV screens. The finished houses hit the market at the start of August and all looked positive for the live auctions when the appearance of the Delta variant of the virus pushed the country once again into lockdown and canned the live auctions.
Rach and Connie’s house goes to auction on Saturday. Photo / Supplied
The team of Ray White real estate agents tasked with selling the homes told OneRoof the outbreak was challenging; they couldn’t hold open homes and there was no sense of when life would return to normal.
Elaine Ferguson, who is marketing Rach and Connie’s house along with colleague Matt Johnson, was a little shocked when Auckland went into lockdown, but was confident the house would sell.
“I always say that allowing yourself to be stressed makes you stressed, and I was confident that we could find ways to make it work,” she said.
Last year, a house marketed by Ferguson and Johnson was sold in what was widely believed to be the world’s first international online auction sale.
“All it means is that old dinosaurs like me have had to become more tech-savvy,” she said. “I really like it all actually – especially being able to work from home.”
Above, Tim and Arthur’s house; below, inside Meg and Dan’s home. Photos / Supplied
David Downie and Lisa Smyth, who are selling Tim and Arthur’s house, said that all eight of the Block listing agents had supported each other through lockdown.
Colleagues Tim Hawes and Mark Prunty are selling Meg and Dan’s house, while Jamie Morrison and Michelle Roache are selling Dylan and Keegan’s house.
“All eight of us are good friends and we work closely together to help each other out, when it gets too hard,” Downie said.
He said that once Auckland moved into level three in September he was able to schedule viewings, which, given the level of buyer demand, have been back-to-back in recent weeks. Some days, he said, were marathon events.
“If someone is exhausted, another one of us will step in and pick up some of the slack,” he said.
Downie said that he was looking forward to a return to physical auctions. “I’m a people person, which is why I do this job. I love working the room and all the tension, then the excitement, and often the amazement when a property gets a top price,” he said.
Dylan and Keegan’s house. Photo / Supplied
The agents have all noticed that potential buyers very often arrive at the Block address with one of the four properties particularly in their sights, but that can change.
“They don’t realise that they are able to inspect all the houses, and it’s interesting how often we see them change their minds,” Downie said.
He thinks the unexpectedly long marketing campaign may have brought more interested parties with it, and the properties have certainly continued attracting interest with a steady stream of new faces arriving to inspect the homes.
Hawes said that the online auction may work out better for some buyers who might have otherwise been put off by the cameras and publicity.
“I guess you could say that we’re removing barriers and perhaps they might feel more comfortable bidding from home, on their couch,” he said.
Hawes noted that lockdown had not dented momentum in Auckland’s housing market.
“Nothing has changed in the Auckland market. People are determined to buy, and they are doing just that,” he said, adding that the series had put a spotlight on point Chevalier’s fast-moving market.
“There are lots of buyers looking for beautiful homes in popular suburbs like this and that’s exactly what we want to offer them.”
- Additional reporting by Catherine Smith
