A Wellington property investor has made a “phenomenal” on-paper profit after she picked up a bungalow in Miramar for $620,000 and sold it for $1.408 million four months later.
The four-bedroom, two-bathroom home on Ellesmere Avenue was in poor condition when the investor bought in August the dated do-up that had been in the same family for two generations.
But within four months she used her seemingly magic touch to transform the property into a modern family home.
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Bayleys listing agent Ben Atwill said no stone had been left unturned and the owner had carried out the high-quality renovation as if she would be living there herself. “Everything had been done to it.”
The work included a new kitchen, two new bathrooms, paint, tiles and structural work that included re-piling it and even putting on a new roof.
“She does have the recipe – she designs it, she doesn’t skip corners – she does everything as if she was going to buy it and it is what builds confidence in buyers. They look at it and go ‘that’s ticked off, that’s ticked off, that’s done’.”
The house on Ellesmere Avenue before the renovation. Photo / Supplied
Atwill said the impressive profit – which he estimated after renovation costs was around $500,000 – was a testament to the type of renovation she did.
“The figure gained is reflective of the quality put in.”
Several property developers in the room were also left flabbergasted, he said, and one had even commented to him that it was the biggest result he had seen in a long time.
The vendor usually carries out two flips a year, but Atwill said this was her biggest result to date. “Today was her crowning glory.”
Before: The kitchen and dining area needed of a lot of work. Photo / Supplied
After: The space is now stunning, having been completely transformed and upgraded. Photo / Supplied
There were 11 registered bidders for the property with five participating.
However, the battle came down to a first-home buyer and downsizer who fought hard for it and kept pushing the price up. The auction opened at $900,000, was announced on the market at $1.288m and finally sold to the first-home buyer for $1.408m.
Earlier this year the same property investor transformed a run-down 1980s two-bedroom house on Black Rock Road in Newlands making a tidy profit along the way. She bought the property for $385,000 and sold it five months later for $610,000.
Just minutes later another property investor was also left rubbing his hands after a Lockwood home he bought on Akatea Street, in Berhampore, for $546,000 sold six months later for $734,000.
A three-bedroom, one-bathroom home on Akatea Street, in Berhampore, had been renovated with first-home buyers in mind. Photo / Supplied
The former Lockwood home was relined, had a new kitchen installed and the bathroom refurbished. Photo / Supplied
The Akatea Street house before its renovation. Photo / Supplied
The home attracted interest from first-home buyers and there were three competing for it at the auction, he said.
The flips showed there was huge demand for move-in ready, fully renovated homes especially because first-home buyers struggled to get finance on any properties that needed too much work.
“You have to design to meet the market, you have to make sure no stone is left unturned and buyers are willing to pay for it. Buyers have no time, they are time-poor and they are happy to pay the money for someone to have done it, but they can’t do it themselves – especially first-home buyers they definitely can’t,” he said.
“If you’ve got the time to put the energy into making it an easy seamless purchase the proof from today’s results is that you will be rewarded.”
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