A South Auckland townhouse has sold under the hammer for $641,200 – significantly more than its advertised $1 reserve.
The brand-new three-bedroom, two-bathroom property on Russell Road, in Manurewa, was the last in a row of six terraced houses to be sold and was auctioned onsite at the weekend attracting 12 registered bidders.
“Our owners need this property SOLD to conclude their Joint Venture and offer you the last of the six terraced houses at a $1 reserve! This is not an April Fools joke,” the listing said.
However, the listing agent Sunny Sareen, from Ray White Sandringham, added in his marketing that relevant disclosures needed to be raised prior to bidding so bidding for the property was “strictly by registration only”.
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Sareen told OneRoof he could not comment on the sale due to “strict confidentiality around the process”.
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The five other townhouses have already sold with the highest sale recorded in June 2022 for $930,000 and the lowest in December 2022 for $800,000, property records show.
OneRoof understands the auction was crowded, with most of the bids coming from investors, although a handful of first-home buyers were in attendance.
Auction activity in the city's affordable housing belt has picked up in recent weeks. A three-bedroom brick and tile home on a 801sqm section on Grant Avenue, in Otara, sold for $802,000 – below its $1m CV but this was the first time the house was on the market in 50 years.
A brick and tile home on Grant Avenue, in Otara, Auckland, sold for just over $800,000. Photo / Supplied
A two-bedroom home on development land on Browns Road in Manurewa, Auckland, sold for just under $1m. Photo / Supplied
In Manurewa, a two-bedroom home on 1040sqm of development land sold for $981,000 – again, well below CV but well up on the $130,000 it sold for in 1997. And a four-bedroom family home on Sikkim Crescent, in Clover Park, sold for $817,000, below its CV of $980,000 but almost double what it was sold for in 2007.
Ray White Manuka co-owner Tom Rawson said that much of the sales activity was being driven by investors.
“We are seeing investors who are targeting tired properties. They're buying up to add value, rejuvenate a place and bring it up to healthy homes standards,” he said.
Rawson said that after the Covid shortages and price explosions, experienced renovators were confident again about getting materials and tradies. At an auction at the company's rooms last week a property that didn't reach reserve at auction sold six hours later for mid-$500,000 to a professional renovator.
“The investor buyer couldn't see it in time, but once he heard it didn't sell he made a clean, cash offer, unconditional. He's getting vacant posession and will make it nice.”
Rawson said that with fewer new listings now hitting the market, smart buyers were looking at properties that have been sitting for a while, looking for price changes or other clues that buyers are ready to sell.
Auckland has seen several auctions with ultra-low reserves in recent months. In December, a four-bedroom cottage with structural rot and a reserve of $1 sold to a first-home buyer for $480,000, and last month a multi-million-dollar penthouse in Mission Bay sold after it was listed with a declared reserve that was significantly less than the purchase price and CV.
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