A family home in Auckland's prized double grammar zone sold at auction last week for just over $4 million, after boom-era levels of interest from developers.
The three-bedroom property on Platina Street, in Remuera, fetched $4.125m - $325,000 above its 2021 CV, and more than $4m above what the vendors paid for it in the 1980s.
The sale, to a young couple, ends almost 18 months of anguish for the vendors, who lost out on almost $5m when a deal struck in February 2022 failed to settle.
This time around, Ray White Remuera agents Steve and Nila Koerber billed the property as having a reserve in the $3m price range. "The dilemma for us was that every single purchaser this time would find out the previous sale price. How could we run an auction when people knew that? So we declared that the vendors were willing to sell below $4m,” Steve Koerber told OneRoof.
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The strategy worked: there were more than 90 viewings of the property and the auction attracted 17 registered bidders, a number that Ray White Remuera co-owner and auctioneer John Bowring hadn’t seen since market peak.
Koerber said the bidders were mostly developers, planning to make the most of the flat 999sqm site zoned for suburban density, although there was a handful who planned to either renovate and extend the original home or build a new home.
“The majority will build. It’s double grammar zone, and there’s demand for brand-new houses,” he said, pointing to a new five-bedroom, 396sqm home with a pool on nearby Dromorne Road that went for $6.25m earlier this year. “The value of new homes in Platina Street could exceed $7m, absolutely.”
The owners, who are selling after 43 years to move into a retirement home, had completely renovated the original run-down bungalow. Photo / Supplied
The house had many of its original features restored. Photo / Supplied
Bidding started at $2.5m and quickly went to $3.9m in bids of $100,000 before slowing down to $50,000 increments. New bidders entered the fray when the home was declared on the market at $4m before the hammer came down at $4.125m, 15 minutes later.
Koerber believed the buyers had a portfolio of properties, and planned to move into the home.
The vendors, who asked not to be named, told OneRoof they moved into the 1930s home 43 years ago.
“It was a pretty tired bungalow, and all overgrown. I just walked in the door, leaned against the pillars and said ‘this is it’. It’s a fantastic neighbourhood,” said one of the owners.
Over the years the couple renovated the house, adding a family room, new decking and landscaping the flat section, retaining the period features of beamed ceilings, leadlight windows and fireplace “the things people used to do, but now no-one has the tools to do”.
They raised their two children there, saying that with the primary school just over the road beside the Platina Reserve, and Kings Prep not much further away, there were always kids about on the street. The couple is selling to move into a retirement village.
Most of the 17 bidders were developers, planning to make the most of the flat 999sqm section zoned for suburban density. Photo / Supplied
The family declared themselves “delighted, thrilled and chuffed” at the sale.
Bowring said that the crowded room (he estimated some 100 were there to watch) signalled an exciting turnaround in the market.
“It felt like the old days, with that many registered bidders here for a good property, well maintained. And six of them were active to the end, it just goes to show the power of an auction.
“There are pretty active buyers out there, but with stock levels lower, they’re selling well. That’s the power of listing now and selling now.”
- Click here to find more properties for sale in Remuera
