The elderly owner of a classic 1950s Christchurch home was over the moon when her home of 30 years sold for an impressive $1.1 million as buyers fought over it.
The owner was sitting in the front row at Thursday’s auction watching four buyers fight over her Wai-Iti Terrace home, in Fendalton.
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It drew huge interest during its first weekend of open homes with more than 41 groups traipsing through its doors leaving rows of shoes at the front door. By the end of the three-week campaign more than 70 people had shown up to its open homes.
The auction for the three-bedroom, one-bathroom home opened at $800,000 and rose in $25,000 bids until it hit $1.025m when it was announced on the market.
The new owners of the Wai-Iti Terrace home plan to move in and renovate it. Photo / Supplied
Two bidders then dropped out of the race, but another took their place making smaller bids of between $5000 and $10,000.
But it was the couple in their 60s that had been part of the auction the whole way making one of the first bids and also the final bid. They were downsizing and planned to move in and renovate it.
Harcourts listing agent Mark O’Loughlin said the owner had been watching the auction and was “ecstatic”. The sale price was significantly above its RV of $950,000.
Harcourts Gold salesperson Mark O'Loughlin said the Wai-Iti Terrace home triggered a lot of interest from a range of buyers. Photo / Supplied
“She was in the room sitting in the front crying, she just couldn’t believe it.”
The house-proud owner then asked if she could still go to the house and do the gardening.
“I said, ‘yes you can, until you give them the keys you can still do the garden’. That’s her treat every day, she leaves the rest home and drives in the car and goes and goes and spends a couple of hours in the garden.”
The other buyers who missed out were young families wanting to buy in the sought-after school zone, while one wanted to build his dream home on it.
The open home for a property at 98 Roberta Drive, in Somerfield, was “pram city”. Photo / Supplied
O’Loughlin said Christchurch families were continuing to chase school zones and those currently house hunting had younger children who were future-proofing and trying to secure something in advance for next year.
He’s also selling a four-bedroom, two-bathroom property at 98 Roberta Drive, in Somerfield, which was swamped at the weekend mainly by young families wanting to be in zone for the Cashmere schools. There were so many people through that he ran out of the 40 brochures he printed to give out.
“It was pram city. There were more children coming through the open homes than a preschool.”
The Wai-Iti Terrace owner was not the only one over the moon with the better-than-expected auction result.
Earlier in the day three other sellers whose auctions had been brought forward after they accepted pre-auction offers saw their houses sell for even more.
A three-bedroom, two-bathroom house on Payling Lane, in Mairehau, was on the market at $650,000 and sold for $683,700; a four-bedroom, one-bathroom house on McIntyre Street, in Shirley, was on the market at $610,00 and sold for $651,000; and a two-bedroom, one-bathroom unit on Rossall Street, in Merivale, was on the market at $760,000 and sold for $790,000.
Harcourts Gold auctioneer Mark Morrison said it added some “icing on the cake” for all three owners of the auctions brought forward yesterday who walked with a total of $104,700 more than they had been happy to accept.
“They were expecting them to be sold at a particular level, they are always hopeful for more but it's never guaranteed.”
Morrison said the bidding for McIntyre Street auction was exceptionally fast with the two buyers going back and forward with lots of tiny bids.
“They just played the $500 game for about 50 bids.”
Of the 18 Christchurch properties called in Harcourts Gold’s auction room yesterday, nine sold under the hammer, while six of the 17 properties up for grabs in Harcourts Grenadier’s auction room also sold.
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