An original three-bedroom home in Hamilton’s Christmas light suburb could sell for $120,000 below its RV when it goes under the hammer next month.
The 1990s brick home at 2 Longwood Place, in Harrowfield, is being auctioned off with a set reserve of just $800,000, which could make it one of the more affordable standalone homes on a larger site to sell in the suburb in recent years. The property is on a 614sqm section and has an RV of $920,000.
Only one other property in the older part of Harrowfield on a 600sqm-plus section has sold for below $800,000 in the last three years, OneRoof-Valocity data shows. Another home on Longwood Place sold for $685,000 in March last year.
Other low sales have been new-builds in the new infill development on Mistry Place and Landell Place that are on 200sqm to 400sqm sections. Sales have started from about $600,000 for a duplex to the mid-$800,000s for a standalone home.
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Lodge listing agent Blair Pointon said advertising the reserve price of $800,000 reflected both the fact that the home was in original condition and that the owner was both motivated and realistic about selling.
The home is in original 1990s condition. Photo / Supplied
The owner has moved into a retirement home after living in the property since it was custom-built for her in 1992. Photo / Supplied
The property could be lived in as is, but there was potential for the new owner to renovate it, Pointon said.
While there had been lower reserves for similar properties in other Hamilton suburbs, he said it was a low reserve for Harrowfield.
“Really it’s just showing buyers that the vendors have already committed and are happy to advertise their reserve.” If there were no other bids then it would sell for $800,000, he said.
The three-bedroom, two-bathroom home is surrounded by massive properties and he had received interest from people wanting to get into what he described as a “prestigious older suburb”.
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“It’s attracting a lot of buyers who wouldn’t otherwise be able to enter that suburb because it needs a bit of work.”
Harrowfield has gained a reputation for being the most festive area in Hamilton during Christmas with cars snaking around the loop road from mid-December to watch the impressive light decorations on most of the houses.
People from all over the city visit the suburb to admire the elaborate lights displays, with some homeowners upping the ante and creating Santa grottos, fake snow and even music shows.
Harcourts business owner Campbell Scott said Harrowfield was built about 30 years ago as an exclusive suburb with one road in and one road out with quite substantial homes including pools and tennis courts.
But with the new infill development happening closer to Harrowfield’s entrance in the last four years there were now more entry-level homes available. “You’ve got kind of two extremes a little bit.”
Scott said the original family homes attract executive families due to their sheer size, while the new-builds on the smaller sites suit investors, first-home buyers and some downsizers. The most expensive homes were now found by the lake and river or in some of the newer enclaves, he said, but it had still retained its exclusive community feel.
Meanwhile, Hamilton agents have also noticed a lot of buyers looking for single-level brick homes under $1 million including some of the smaller and older Harrowfield homes because people seemed to view them as a good base for a renovation project.
Harrowfield's annual Christmas lights display draws people from all around the city. Photo / NZME
The auction for the three-bedroom do-up on Bellmont Avenue, in Chartwell, exceeded the agent's expectations after it sold for $40,000 above the pre-auction offer. Photo / Supplied
A three-bedroom, one-bathroom brick do-up was in hot demand when it was called in the Lodge auction room this week.
The brought-forward auction for the Bellmont Avenue property opened at $690,000 when it was also announced on the market. The two serious bidders, understood to be owner-occupiers, continued to fight for the home which finally sold for $730,000 and left the vendor with a bonus $40,000 in their pocket.
The dated 1960s home with brown floral carpet and some floral wallpaper had been in the same family for 40 years. The sale price was still $110,000 below its RV of $840,000.
Pointon said the auction had exceeded his expectations and showed how properties had gone from struggling to sell at auction to now getting pre-auction offers and even selling for more.
The Bellmont Ave home attracted a mix of buyers including investors, first-home buyers and owner-occupiers, one of whom ended up owning it after the auction.
A four-bedroom, two-bathroom home on Lamont Street, in Chartwell, sold at a mortgagee auction for $670,000. Photo / Supplied
Earlier this month a four-bedroom, two-bathroom brick do-up several doors down on Lamont Street sold for $670,000 at a Bayleys auction. Two bidders were left battling it out for the mortgagee property, which eventually sold for at least $45,000 more than its reserve but still $240,000 below its RV.
Meanwhile, a two-bedroom home on a 624sqm section at 15 Bellmont Ave is still on the market and priced at $665,000 after failing to sell at a Harcourts auction on Thursday. The auction passed in at a vendor bid of $580,000 when the sole bidder stopped after placing one bid of $560,000.
Scott said there had been a noticeable lift in the number of properties selling at auction compared to three months ago, but there hadn’t been many brought-forward auctions or advertised set reserves as yet.
“Certainly the old-school brick-and-tile 1960s needs a reno or the newer version out in the northern suburbs where it’s the brick-and-tile family home have always been popular and they are more popular at the moment because there’s demand generally.”
Scott said investors and first-home buyers were also back looking again.
“There’s not one part of the market doing exceptionally well, they are all just starting to improve.”
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