Two neighbouring empty plots of land in the blue chip Christchurch suburb of Fendalton have sold under the hammer for $3.05 million – and the buyer may well spend an extra $6m just to build their dream home on the sites.
The plots on Thornycroft Street had been carved off bigger neighbouring estates to offer a combined site of 1679sqm.
The listing agent, Bayleys’ Adam Heazlewood, said buyers were prepared to pay well over the combined $1.686m RV, with two bidders competing hard in the auction room.
If the bigger plot hadn’t sold, he had more buyers in the room ready to bid for the individual sites of 909sqm and 770sqm, on the market for the first time in 60 years.
Start your property search
It’s the third big price for Fendalton land Heazlewood has achieved in the past year.
In July he sold a 4000sqm site on the banks of the Avon River, on Fendalton Road, for $7.6m, well above its $3.96m RV and in September, he got $1.22m for a 610sqm vacant section in Daresbury Lane – nearly double its RV and $400,000 more than what it sold for two years ago.
The land, 909sqm and 770sqm, was carved off bigger sections on Thornycroft Street. Photo / Supplied
“The market is still stable at the top end,” Heazlewood said.
“But there’s a real limited offering, and pickings are slim. We’re not inundated with options for people looking for big sites for the grand house, and are seeing enquiry from Kiwis returning from Australia, as well as locals.”
The flat north-facing sites were on a secluded cul-de-sac off one of Fendalton’s prized streets, Glandovey Road, and in zone for Christchurch Boys’ and Christchurch Girls’ High School, and near private schools.
Heazlewood said there is some change to the market.
A 4000sqm property on Fendalton Road sold for $7.6m in July 2021. The huge six-bedroom 420sqm house will be bowled. Photo / Supplied
“Last year so many vendors wouldn’t sell because they couldn’t find something to move to, at least that’s changed and people are comfortable to sell before they buy,” he said.
Heazlewood said that top-end buyers could spend $6m, up to $8m, to build the grand house but have very high requirements for the right land before they commit 2-3 years of their lives that a new build would take to complete.
And while some big sites could be carved into smaller townhouse plots, the nearly $2000 per square metre land price in suburbs like Fendalton means the margins aren’t there, so these trophy properties are for family buyers only.
The sales come as Bayleys national auction manager Conor Patton said that the clearance rates in the company’s auction rooms dipped to 56%, in March, down on February’s 60% and last year’s average of 75%. Sales under the hammer reached $475m, well up on February’s traditionally quieter sales of $335m.
