‘Possibly the cheapest home in Hamilton’ sold in less than two minutes

Fast and furious bidding for an entry-level Hamilton home saw the property sail pass its advertised reserve price and sell for $50,000 more, while another property also with the publicised reserve price sold right on the nose for $730,000.

Of the three properties that sold in Lodge’s auction room in the week before Christmas, two had advertised reserves. The six other properties passed in, but four are expected to have offers on them by Christmas.

A “super tidy” 1960s home on Nevada Street, in Silverdale, which was marketed as “possibly the cheapest home in Hamilton”, had an advertised set reserve of $589,000.

The entry-level property attracted 10 quick bids and sold within two minutes for $640,000.

Bidding started at $530,000 and quickly reached the $589,000 reserve.

Lodge managing director and auctioneer Jeremy O’Rourke said there were about five registered bidders, but the three others couldn’t get their hands up quick enough.

“It went quick, it went real quick.

“It bid up so quickly and got to a point where both bidders were out.”

Advertising a set reserve also showed people they were serious about selling on auction day, he said.

“The reserve was set to say this property is going to be sold and if you can buy it at this number why wouldn’t you.

“The reserve probably looked below market.”

O’Rourke said he had been told that the owners were thrilled with the result and were just “wanting out”.

The listing agent Sue Hall did a good job at identifying a sale price, he said, that would almost guarantee a sale and represented great value.

Properties at the lower-end of the market are hard to get unconditional sales on because they appeal to first home buyers or investors, he said.

“That part of the market has been difficult to create unconditional sales at.”

However, the downside to advertised set reserves is that in the worst-case scenario they had to sell at that price.

A five-bedroom on Melva Street, in Dinsdale, Hamilton, was sold “as is where is”. Photo / Supplied

There was less competition for a large family home with “huge potential” in Melva Street, in Dinsdale, and within 25 seconds the bidder had placed one bid at the reserve price of $730,000.

The five-bedroom, three-bathroom home sold in “as is where is” condition has a rateable value of $870,000. The sale was also subject to the Official Assignee approving the agreement.

“Our owners' instructions are clear, this home must be sold at auction,” the listing said.

Bidding on a property on Bains Avenue, in Claudelands, which had to be sold before the end of the year, opened at $700,000. Two bidders placed nine bids on it and it was snapped up for $825,000.

The home was marketed at “bargain hunters, tradies, DIYers and investors”.

A house on Bains Avenue, in Claudelands, Hamilton, sold under the hammer for $825,000. Photo / Supplied

“With renovations almost completed, the home has been mostly double-glazed, and with some plastering and painting skills and an additional chattels list to help you finish the job, you will add further value to this great property,” Lodge salesperson Jo Foley said in the listing.

Meanwhile six out of 32 properties sold at Barfoot & Thompson’s auctions on the Tuesday and Wednesday before Christmas (with another five properties wrapping up the year on Thursday). The top price was $1.85m for a four-bedroom home in need of renovation on Rangiatea Road in Epsom's double grammar zone.

Just two out of five sold at Bayleys' Bay of Plenty auctions, with the top price of $2.74m going to a four-bedroom home on Wells Avenue, Mount Maunganui. A 1980s three-bedroom home on Manuka Road, Oneroa, Waiheke Island, billed as a do-up passed in.

Harcourts Cooper & Co, which covers Auckland's North Shore to Warkworth, had five properties on the slate for Thursday. A Beach Road, Manly, property sold for $1.75m after over 30 minutes of negotiation.

In South Auckland, Ray White's Manukau and Manurewa auctions saw just three out of ten homes sell under the hammer for prices that ranged between $540,000 for a two-bedroom brick and tile unit billed as a do-up on Fraser Road, Papatoetoe to $900,000 for a three-bedroom brick and tile home on Mount Lebanon Crescent in Manurewa's The Gardens suburb.

Homes in Pakuranga, Patamahoe, Rosehill and Narrow Neck also sold under the hammer this week in other Ray White auctions, with prices topping out at $1.95m for a three-bedroom deceased estate villa on Ascot Avenue in Devonport's Narrow Neck.

- Additional reporting by Catherine Smith