A bach, a small unit in the suburbs and a tiny CBD apartment have all sold under the hammer this week for "bargain" prices.
A must-sell one-bedroom studio apartment on Anzac Avenue, in central Auckland, fetched $42,000 at Barfoot & Thompson’s auctions on Wednesday.
The leasehold apartment was marketed as having a “tiny price and massive returns”, with the listing highlighting a rental appraisal of $325 a week that could suit both university students and city dwellers.
“Are you looking for a property with double digit returns? Look no further,” agents Leo Shin and Alan Vessey said in their marketing.
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“The vendor needs this property sold. Come attend an open home and name the price.”
The auction opened at $10,000, with Barfoot & Thompson auctioneer Murray Smith commenting to the crowd: “There we go, just like a charity auction.”
It then jumped to $35,000 before slowing down and finally selling for $42,000 – $134,000 below its RV.
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It's not the first "cheap" apartment to be snapped up this year, with a troubled four-bedroom apartment on Carrington Road in Mount Albert making headlines when it sold for $1.
Meanwhile, at the same Barfoot & Thompson auction on Wednesday, a two-bedroom unit on Landscape Road in Pukekohe sold for $401,000 – just after it was announced on the market at $400,000. The sale price was $99,000 below CV.
The 70sqm, two-bedroom brick unit was listed as a mortgagee sale and described by Barfoot & Thompson agents Philip Davis and Simone Simpson as an “incredible chance for savvy investors and home buyers alike to secure a slice of real estate gold”.
The property was only available for kerbside viewing, but photos of inside the property showed it was empty.
Another bargain-hunter picked up a two-bedroom bach on Washington Avenue, in Snells Beach, for $555,000. That too was a mortgagee sale.
A two-bedroom bach on Washington Avenue, in Snells Beach, sold for $555,000 in a mortgagee auction. Photo / Supplied
A two-bedroom unit on Landscape Road, in Pukekohe, sold in a forced sale for $401,000. Photo / Supplied
The auction opened at $350,000 and the property was announced on the market at $525,000 before reaching the final sale price, which was well below its CV of $790,000.
The property, which boasts impressive views of Kawau Bay, last changed hands for $347,000 in 2013, OneRoof property records show.
“Located just approximately two hundred and seventy meters from the beach, this property is not only a great starter home, but also an ideal holiday bach with endless potential for future value,” listing agents Philip Davis and Brad Matthews said in the listing.
Barfoot & Thompson operations manager Vaughan Borcovsky said auction activity had been picking up in the last five to six weeks, with the agency noting an increase in clearance rates.
“We are seeing an increase in percentages of clearance rates on the day and clearance rates and success rates after the auction for those that haven’t quite met the market.”
Even though Wednesday's auctions included two mortgagee sales, Borcovsky said there hadn’t been a dramatic lift in the number of forced sales.
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