This could be the cheapest find for a first-home buyer in Auckland - with a cool industrial vibe thrown in.
An Auckland city-fringe developer is auctioning two units with resource consents to be turned into live-work homes with a reserve of just $1.
The brand-new commercial units, one is 82sqm and the other 77sqm, are the final ones for sale in the SugarTree development on Union Street, between Cook and Nelson Streets.
“I love a loft,” said Bayleys agent Dean Budd, who is bringing the units to auction on August 24. It is not the first time his client had auctioned units in SugarTree with a $1 reserve.
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“We’d done it with two units back in March,” he said. “But this time we’re insisting the auctioneer start the bids at $1.”
One of the units in the SugarTree apartment block on Union Street has resource consent for four bedrooms and a live-work studio. Photo / Supplied
He told OneRoof that units 2 and 4 are the last two personally owned by two of the developers, and they were game to try another $1 reserve auction after the serious enquiry last time. He said that he was swamped with calls, and estimated some 12 bidders turned up in person with more bidding by phone for the auction.
“We were newbies at it, we were not sure of the value so we were just telling people to turn up.
“Hand on heart, we didn’t know where it would go. But the opening bid wasn’t even $1, it started at $5000 or $10,000 and went up in $10,000 lots from there. One sold for $252,000, the other for $268,000.”
Budd said that one of the spaces, Unit 4, has a high enough stud that it could be converted into a loft-style two-level apartment. It has resource consents for a four-bedroom plus studio live/work space of approximately 156sqm.
The smaller unit, consented for a one-bedroom live-work studio, has its own private courtyard. Photo / Supplied
The smaller Unit 2 has consent for a one-bedroom-plus-work studio with exclusive use of a courtyard area.
Parking is not included with the units and the new owner would need to pay body corporate.
Budd said SugarTree’s three mixed-use towers – Prima, Altro and Centro – have around 2000 residents. The block by the motorway on and off ramps is close to the high-rise precincts of the inner city, and within walking distance of Freemans Bay and Ponsonby.
“We have sold three units recently in the complex so have comparable prices. The majority of these commercial spaces have been converted to these live/work format, plus there’s a convenience store, bakery and café in one block, a daycare in the other.
“When you go in there, there are always people coming and going.”
The SugarTree complex of three towers between Union, Cook and Nelson streets is home to some 2000 people. Photo / Supplied
Budd said apartments in the complex are selling for around $650,000, adding that a buyer would need to do their own budgeting for design and building consent to fit out the raw spaces.
$1 reserve auctions do well for vendors.
In June 2020, just as Auckland’s property market was starting to revive after lockdown, a three-bedroom fixer-upper in South Auckland fetched $600,000 under the hammer after it was advertised as having a $1 reserve. Some 40 bidders registered for the auction, and more than 200 people crowded the auction room.
The strategy paid off: the price for the house on Landette Road, Manurewa, was $70,000 above its 2017 CV and $459,500 more than it had sold for 18 years earlier.
- Units P2 and P4, 27 Union Street, Auckland, will be auctioned on August 24.
