An Auckland real estate agent sold four homes for more than $12 million in just four days last week.
Barfoot & Thompson agent Cici Wang told OneRoof she managed to close the deals because her vendors had been wise to changes in the housing market.
Figures published by the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand today showed Auckland residential sales for February were down 40% year on year, and the city’s median sale price fell from $1.2m in January to $1.19m in February.
Wang said her sales last week were possible because vendors were getting more realistic about pricing. “The auction room is quite empty,” she said.
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“You get one or two bidders, you’d never expect three, or four or five now. If you’ve got a real bidder and it didn’t sell, then that means the reserve is too high and you’re not meeting the market.
“Some of these take some negotiation to get the top bidder over the reserve.”
Her deals ranged from more than $5m for a five-bedroom house in Mount Eden to $1.82m for a brick unit in Greenlane.
Wang said that the auction price of $1.82m for a two-bedroom brick unit, one of a pair on Tawera Road in Greenlane, was based on market feedback from the open homes.
Barfoot & Thompson agent Cici Wang said vendors were getting more realistic about prices. Photo / Fiona Goodall
“They don’t really care about the new CVs. In fact, for this one, we didn’t find out the CV was $1.7m until after it sold. The vendor had a figure in their mind and we were also relying on the market feedback.”
However, for Wang’s top sale, more than $5m (she cannot disclose the exact price) for an Arts and Crafts villa on Balmoral Road, the vendor was holding out to cross that $5m line.
“They turned down $4.92m when it passed in at auction,” she said.
“I guess that proves the vendor made a great decision, we never gave up. And it was a different buyer [from the top auction bidder], they’d only seen the house the day before the auction, but didn’t bid.
“For buyers like this, they have the finance ready, but wanted to wait five days for the building report.
“Over $5m buyers aren’t affected by the finance restrictions, they’re cash buyers, they had an immediate offer after the auction, subject to the building report.”
Wang said buyers and sellers have read stories of lower auction rates, and as long as vendors were prepared to listen to the market, things would sell.
Wang’s other two sales – $2.9m for a four-bedroom house on 2.25ha on Potts Road in the desirable Clifton Peninsula area of Whitford, south east Auckland, and $2.33m for a three-bedroom bungalow in double Grammar-zoned Onslow Road in Epsom – were listings by other Barfoot & Thompson agents that she brought buyers to.
Buyers paid $2.9m for a four-bedroom house on 2.25ha on Potts Road in Whitford, south east Auckland. Photo / Supplied
“My buyers have shifted this year from about 50:50 mix of owner-occupiers and developers to now over 70% owner-occupiers.
“Compared to early February, the market has started to warm up. People were holding back but now they’re saying ‘I still need a place to live’.
“Places are not selling in seconds, the lower end is not as good as they’re heavily affected by the lower lending, the middle will warm up and the upper end is not affected.”
Wang said that one of her vendors was anxious to dispel any thought that the new CV of $4.4m was anything like what they’re expecting.
OneRoof records show the six-bedroom Edwardian villa on Mount Albert Road, Three Kings, sold eight years ago for $1.63m.
“The CV is a big joke, the vendor is only looking for mid-$2m. While it is in the terrace housing apartments zoning, the 1586sqm has a heritage overlay so it can’t be demolished.
The owners of a 1629sqm development site on Ascot Avenue, Remuera, are looking for close to $7m. Photo / Supplied
“It looks like two departments [of Auckland Council] aren’t talking to each other, the land value increase is huge because it’s THAB zoning – it doubled from 2017 to $4m – but the house is protected.”
However, another three-bedroom Arts and Crafts villa on 1629sqm of development land on Ascot Avenue, Remuera does have developers in mind. The double Grammar zone property, zoned for terraces and apartments, sold just over three years ago for $3.75m but is now on the market with resource consent for 25 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments.
“The vendor wants big money – more than $6m, closer to $7m. They spent a lot of money for consents. Other developers are facing a shortage of materials, second-tier lenders, they’re under huge risk and reluctant to wait until they’ve sold through, so they’re looking for projects to finish so they can move on [to the next project].”
