A Waiheke Island resident has paid $3 million for a luxurious two-bedroom, two-bathroom “city pad” overlooking Auckland’s harbour, with the apartment snapped up in just a third of the time others in the new inner-city suburb take to sell.
It comes as the highest price paid for a central Auckland apartment last year was $4.2m for a three-bedroom, two-bathroom penthouse in the metropolis, OneRoof-Valocity figures show.
The modern apartment in the Halsey Street apartment block saw three of four registered bidders trying to win the property at a Ray White auction this week.
The auction opened at $1.8m and swiftly jumped to $2.2m before pausing at $2.8m with a total of four bids made.
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Negotiations were then carried out with the highest bidder before the auction re-opened at $3m when it was announced on the market and sold for the same price.
Ray White listing agent Gabriela Galateanu said the apartment is in the best complex in Wynyard Quarter because the views cannot be built out.
“This one was quite special, I think that’s why it got good interest just because of the location. In that building, in particular, there’s not much coming up on the market that often and I think the position of where it was with the views.”
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The apartment has an open-plan living area, state-of-the-art appliances and two balconies. Residents also have access to the gym, conference room and a 24/7 concierge service.
There were 30 private viewings for the apartment with interest coming from people who lived out of Auckland and wanted a city pad, retirees, investors and even people moving to the city from overseas. “It was quite mind-blowing the interest we had for something in that price range.”
The new owner lives on Waiheke Island and bought the apartment near another family member also in the building as their city base, she said.
The property sold within 21 days of being on the market which, Galateanu said, is quite quick as apartments in Wynyard Quarter generally take a bit longer to sell and can be on the market for anywhere between 30 and 60 days.
This can be due to the nature of the lease, there being fewer buyers in the $2m to $3m price range and the niche location, she said.
A large leasehold waterfront apartment in Lighter Quay is on the market for $4.2m. Photo / Supplied
“I guess it’s just the whole neighbourhood – some people like it, some people prefer something a bit more quiet. But whoever likes to have everything accessible within the area – this isn’t for everyone – put it this way.”
The developer of the Wynyard Quarter apartments has pre-paid the land lease to Auckland Council for 128 years, so the ground fees are included in the sale price and owners are only expected to cover the body corporate fees.
“People do ask questions because it’s not freehold, but that’s why I think the ground rent is included in the price, in the figures and that’s why we can say they are freehold prices, but it’s still lease as such.”
The model differs to other leasehold apartments which usually require an annual ground rent to be paid.
But New Zealand International Sotheby’s Realty agent Pene Milne said leasehold apartments offer great value for money as huge apartments can be secured for at least a third of the cost of a freehold one.
Milne is selling a 350sqm apartment at 5A/87 Halsey Street in the prestigious Lighter Quay with an asking price of $4.2m and a ground lease of $75,055.52 per annum.
The north-facing penthouse has four bedrooms, three bathrooms, three carparks and looks down on the super yachts and out to Rangitoto and the Waitemata Harbour. “If this was freehold the amount would be substantial amounts more.”
Milne said retirees and business-minded people who live in central suburbs with properties of significant value see these apartments as a means to free-up some cash without downsizing their lives. “It appeals to people who have a much bigger asset, and they are freeing up capital and by freeing up capital the ground lease is just a function of that in terms of their annual OPEX and they get an amazing lifestyle downtown.”
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