A four-bedroom house in Auckland's Stonefields sold under the hammer at the weekend for $2.9 million, a record-smashing result for the suburb.
The Papango Street property, which last changed hands in 2012 for $1.099m, just pipped the previous record-holder, a four-bedroom home on nearby Barbarich Drive, which sold under the hammer in November last year for $2.877m.
The listing agent for the Papango Street home, Ray White Parnell's John Q, said that while 40 or 50 groups viewed had come through the open homes, there was just one bidder at the auction.
“I didn’t think we’d crack $2.9m, but you only tend to get these bigger lots on Papango Street every few years.”
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The sale price was almost $400,000 above CV and is a signal that some properties are able to fetch a premium in current market conditions.
John Q said Stonefield prices had dipped between 8% and 12% this year. “A freestanding house in Stonefields last year would have sold for $2.5m, but now we’re pricing them at $2.2m to $2.3m and they’re not moving.”
He said that the Papango Street property was immaculately presented (the house was repainted inside and out, and boasted new landscaping) and had the edge over other listings.
The Papango Street home had been rented out since the owner bought it in 2021 for just over $1m. Photo / Supplied
“Not all freestanding homes are getting the same interest. But I’ve always told clients that not all homes struggle and it is property specific," he said.
“I always say Stonefields is a one-or-none market, it just needs one buyer to fall in love with a unique home."
About half the buyers looking at the Papango Street house were Stonefields residents seeking to upgrade; the rest were from surrounding suburbs of Remuera, Ellerslie and Saint Johns.
“It takes about three months of people looking for them to get familiar with the suburb. Locals know the prime streets and this one is on the higher side with good sun," John Q said.
“They know a corner lot is special, they know the rarity value.”
Stonefields homes enjoy some of the highest resale profits in the country. Photo / Fiona Goodall
John Q said that of the suburb’s 1600 or so properties, only 30% were standalone houses, the rest a mix of terraces, apartments and duplexes, so buyers in the $2m to $3m price bracket recognised the value.
The out-of-town vendors had rented the property out since they bought it in 2012. John Q said a house like this would fetch between $1200 and $1300 rent per week.
Figures from OneRoof's data partner, Valocity, show that only 30 houses in the suburb have sold for over $2m; the first was on Barbarich Drive in August 2016, at the last market peak, for $2.005m, 25 of them in the past year. The most expensive attached house was a four-bedroom end terrace property on a large corner lot that sold for $2.38m just before Christmas last year.
