A run-down cottage in the wealthy Auckland suburb of Parnell has sold under the hammer for $1.355 million after a quick but intense auction battle.
The Barfoot & Thompson agents who marketed the property, Wendy Sadd and Michele Ballinger, made no bones about the extent of renovations required to get the home to a liveable state, pitching the house as a dare to potential buyers.
“He who dares, Wins!” they declared in the listing on OneRoof, pointing out that it had been many years since the house looked its best.
Listing photos showed the three-bedroom home on a tiny 253sqm site on Alberon Road was bare inside and in a dilapidated state. It had some rudimentary gib lining and fireplaces in two rooms, but the house was missing its front verandah and was surrounded by overgrown vines and trees. Tellingly, there were no pictures of the kitchen or bathroom.
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The agents pointed out that the house was on a leafy street and “dream location”, which meant walking distance to the local primary school, the trendy Parnell Village and the train station, and within the desirable double grammar school zone.
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Barfoot & Thompson auctioneer Marian Tolich called the place uninhabitable, but the six bidders who turned up to the auction on Wednesday afternoon were keen. Bids quickly ran up the price from an opening gambit of $750,000 to the house being declared on the market at $1.25m just six minutes later. After another three minutes, and another $105,000 added on to the price, the hammer came down.
Sadd told OneRoof the result was a good one.
The property was bare inside. Photo / Supplied
The back garden was overgrown, with the 74sqm cottage sitting on just 253sqm. of land Photo / Supplied
The quick sale of the cottage on Alberon Street stands in stark contrast to the challenge facing another troubled property in Parnell.
A desperate owner is quitting his townhouse after a soul-destroying three rounds of remediation for leaks and floods.
The three-bedroom terrace house at 1 Cotesmore Way is being sold by way of price by negotiation after passing in at auction last month.
The property had been damaged in the Auckland floods earlier this year but has now been, according to the updated listing, “completely fixed up – like brand new!”
It had been previously being advertised for sale with the headline “Sentenced to 6 months behind bars!”
A three-bedroom terrace at 1 Cotesmore Way, in Parnell, Auckland, is still up for grabs. Photo / Supplied
The owner had told OneRoof before the August 23 auction that he had had enough following repair delays.
The new listing, with City Sales agent Ainsley Lewis, states the property is “ready to inhabit or rent out”.
“You’ll need to be a cash buyer. But you won’t need much of it. Vendor has had enough and relocated up north.”
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