A modest 1940s three-bedroom bach next to the beach on Auckland’s Waiheke Island sold the Friday before Christmas after just one day on the market.
And, in a first for the island, it sold for $105,000 above its asking price of $1.795 million.
The two-storey house on Shelly Beach Road, Surfdale, was being sold as part of a deceased estate.
It had direct access to the beach from the bottom of its 991sqm section, with a loft added to the original house, as well as a conservatory, office and garage and workshops. The bright blue-painted house came with solar panels, a water bore and woodburner. The agents’ advertising billed it as “character filled” with native timber floors and skillful carpentry.
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"You have direct access to the beach from the garden, the large 991m2 flat section with a garage is practically waterfront,” the listing said.
Ray White business owner Matthew Smith, who marketed the property with Shelley Dewar, told OneRoof that the trustees for the deceased estate, wanted the place sold quickly before the Christmas holidays.
They got their wish.
The character-filled deceased estate house on Shelly Beach Road, Surfdale, has the beach at the bottom of the garden. Photo / Supplied
The three-bedroom house featured native timbers and original joinery. Photo / Supplied
The house, which had a CV of $1.95m, was listed on the Thursday before Christmas with an asking price of $1.795m, and sold the next day for $1.9m.
“Under normal circumstances, we would have taken it to auction,” Smith said.
“But the story thickens a little, because the deceased was a professor at Auckland University and 100% of the process of the sale are going to [be] donated to the university.
“He was a world leader in his field.”
OneRoof records show the vendor paid $875,000 for the place just over 10 years ago.
Smith told OneRoof that the trustees of the estate wanted the house to be sold as easily as possible, and didn’t want to go through the auction process.
“We gave him an appraisal at what we believe was the right price, he and the other trustee agreed that it seems like a relatively fair price.”
Multiple buyers who saw the house on the first day it was on the market put in offers, driving the price to well over its asking price. Photo / Supplied
Then the fun began.
A buyer, who’d had a sneak peek at the house before it went on the market, made an offer the morning the listing went live, while a second couple who saw the house that morning immediately put in another offer.
“Then someone else called to see if they could look at it while I was in the office writing the offer for these people. They went through while there was a builder there doing the building report and said they’d like to make an offer.
“They came and sat in my office, it was almost like a doctor’s surgery, waiting to see me. As I said goodbye to the first people, there was the second offer.
“And then a third lady came in and she really wanted it. She didn’t want to miss out, so offered $1.9m unconditional. Later that night, the two trustees signed it and it was sold.”
While he couldn’t disclose details of the buyer, he said she was a local who planned to do some work on the house and make it her permanent home.
Agent Matthew Smith says getting the price right is crucial. A stylish two-bedroom bach on 132 Fairview Crescent, Omiha, has had lots of enquiries since the asking price dropped to $950,000. Photo / Supplied
Smith said he had to tell yet another buyer, who had come out from the city that day to see the property and was going to deliberate overnight, that the place was gone.
He said he could not remember another property in his years of experience that sold for over the listing price, but landing on the right number has been crucial in this summer’s market.
“Where properties are marketed with a price, the price needs to be right, otherwise we’re simply not receiving the enquiry,” he said.
“We’ve recently adjusted some prices where we’ve been getting little to no enquiry and the quick uptake is staggering, so the fish are certainly out there circling, you just need the right bait to catch them.”
Smith pointed to a stylish near-new, two-bedroom house on 132 Fairview Crescent, on Omiha, on the southern side of the island that was first listed in August for $1.049m before the price was dropped to $1.039m in November. At the end of December, the price on the house, which has a CV of $1.02m, was changed to $950,000.
OneRoof records show it changed hands in February 2022, at the peak of the market, for $1.15m.
“And now I'm getting inquiries on it every single day and I was getting nothing for months. Getting the price right is so fundamentally important now,” he said.
Smith said real estate activity on the island was substantially higher this summer compared to last year, but buyers were taking their time making decisions.
“That’s due to a vast increase in both the volume of properties on the market and buyer demand.
“However, due to all the predictions of a flurry of additional properties coming to market throughout 2024, there’s not a great deal of sense of urgency from the buyer.”
- Click here to find more properties for sale on Waiheke Island
