Two apartment owners have had their Christmas wishes come true after the apartments they urgently wanted to sell were snapped up at auction this week.
The investor of a one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment on Market Place who needed to “flick it by Christmas” did just that when it was sold under the hammer for $95,000.
The auction opened with an $80,000 bid before going into negotiations at $85,000 and coming back on the market at $95,000 when it was sold to the one and only bidder at the City Sales auction room this week.
The tenant of 14 years wanted to stay on and it was returning $420 a week in rent.
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While the owner of the Whitaker Place apartment who was hanging around waiting for the property to be sold can now jet off to Vanuatu to spend Christmas with family. There was just one bidder for the apartment, which sold for $635,000.
A Hobson St apartment also given a Christmas deadline sold for $560,000 with two bidders, while a two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment on Nelson Street described in its listing as “the red-hot deal of the season” opened at $600,000 and sold for $770,000 to its one and only bidder.
The vendor of this apartment on Whitaker Place, in Auckland Central, got $635,000, allowing him to go to Vanuatu for Christmas. Photo / Supplied
However two other apartment owners are still waiting for Christmas miracles with a 50sqm freehold apartment at 16E/363 Queen Street and a two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment at 205/83 Halsey Street now priced at $545,000 and $719,000 respectively.
Both listings call for urgency saying the vendors “must sell” or “need out” by Christmas.
City Sales sales manager Scott Dunn said the clearance rate was higher than normal with six of the eight properties called selling.
“We had willing buyers, willing sellers so it was a very good result,” he said.
“At this time of year a lot of people just want to clear their affairs before Christmas.”
Dunn said the Halsey St property had already received post auction offers and he was hoping an offer on the Queen St apartment would come in soon.
Meanwhile the owners of a Maungakaramea lifestyle property in Northland will also be hoping Christmas comes early when their property goes on the slate on Friday at Harcourts Whangarei.
The owners, according to the listing, want the property sold as soon as possible so they can move to another one they have their eye on.
