A luxury bach one street back from Onetangi Beach, on Waiheke Island, sold under the hammer this week for $4.8 million - more than $1m above its CV.
Bidding on the three-bedroom on Le Roy Road started at $4m and reached $4.2m before the auction paused for negotiation. Fifteen minutes later the house was on the market for $4.8m and the hammer came down.
The house, which was Ignite Architects, was built to eco-conscious principles almost 20 years ago. The owners had paid $825,000 for the bush-edged 951sqm section with an original bach, parts of which were still left after the extensive rebuild.
Bayleys agent Mana Tahapehi, who marketed the property, said there were three bidders who had been looking for the right place on Waiheke for a while.
Start your property search
"The eventual buyers had been looking with me for two and a half years – they're probably quite happy to see the back of me,” Tahapehi joked.
“When something like this comes up, buyers don’t have the luxury of waiting, they have to jump at the opportunity. It was a great property, the vendors presented it well, and this close to Onetangi beach is hard to find.
“I’d say it’s still a sellers' market, we achieved a great result.”
Read more:
- Magazine star Waiheke bach sells for $10.2m - more than $2m above CV
- ‘No one could believe it’: House snapped up in six days as buyers return to the auction rooms
- London builder reluctantly selling his Grand Designs container house on Waiheke Island
Tahapehi said that while the 32 buyers through the property is down from last year, where a house like this would have been seen by more like 50 buyers, there are still strongly qualified buyers shopping in this price range.
“We’ve had record low stock levels for a while. But when we get a bit of sun, it was making people feel a bit more confident to just move on and get on with it.”
Bayleys Waiheke manager Mark Spitz said the agency is finding a really strong appetite from buyers.
The modern three-bedroom house on Le Roy Road, Onetangi, had been built around an original bach 20 years ago. Photo / Supplied
Three bidders competed for the Le Roy Road house. Photo / Supplied
“Over the last three weeks we’ve sold multiple properties. The sweet spot is still up to $1.5m, where prices can be down as much as 30% on the peak.
“But at the top end, like Le Roy, we’d only see a 10 to 15% drop.”
Ray White Waiheke business owner Matthew Smith said many of his top-end buyers were not back from their lengthy overseas holidays, so he is advising keen venders to wait until spring when people are back.
He is bringing a four-bedroom 1960s home on a 1510sqm section on Waikare Road, in Oneroa, to market this spring which he expects will break records.
“Waikare Road is becoming the Paritai Drive of Waiheke, you wouldn’t believe it. It’s all about the big views over Oneroa Bay, that's the thing, so it’s a very sought-after little stretch.”
Records show the buyers paid $2m for the property seven years ago.
A four-bedroom house on Waikare Road, dubbed 'the Paritai Drive of Waiheke', sold for $4.225m in February . Photo / Supplied
The 7.7ha estate of Poderi Crisci restaurant and vineyard and its neighbouring home is for sale as a family lifestyle spread with buyer interest expected to be over $10m. Photo / Supplied
Smith couldn’t comment on a likely price the Waikare Road property will achieve when it goes to auction (it has a CV of $3.025m), but pointed to a stylish three-bedroom 1930s house a few doors down that sold at auction for $4.225m in February. A modern four-bedroom cedar home with two guest units on a 714sqm section that got $6.55m over 18 months ago is about to undergo a $3m rebuild, he said.
“People buy these, they’re nice to live in until they’re ready to bowl and re-build. There are houses on this street now worth $12m to $13m.”
Smith has also picked up the listing for the Poderi Crisci restaurant and neighbouring farmhouse on 205 and 205A Awaawaroa Road, 10 minutes out from Onetangi beach. The 7.7ha property includes the award-winning restaurant, 2.5ha of vineyards and a four-bedroom farmhouse and winery.
Smith said buyers with $10m to spend would look at creating a lifestyle estate, converting the restaurant to more accommodation or bringing in a leaseholder to run the business side.
Chris Jones, New Zealand Sotheby’s International Realty’s managing director for Auckland Waiheke, said that activity in July has started to show some promise and vendors are starting to discuss selling their houses in spring.
“In July we already had something like 12 buyers ready to buy in lots of different locations and price points – from $1m up to whatever. It feels like we’re coming out of the doldrums.
“We just have to get through the elections, that’s affecting people’s psyche. We’ve always got the super high-end buyers there, but the activity with lots of enquiry is that $1m to $4m band.”
- Click here to see more houses for sale on Waiheke Island
