A stylish three-bedroom home on a large block of land in Whangarei was snapped by a pair of first-time buyers this week for $580,000.
The couple, who are expecting their first child, were the only bidders at the Bayleys auction, but they had gone in hard and early with a pre-auction offer, with the 1970s property selling within two weeks of hitting the market.
Bayleys agent Carly Whaikawa, who marketed the property with colleague Gabe Schoonderwoerd, told OneRoof the buyers were 17 weeks into their pregnancy, and had been through a lot of properties before finding success with the house on Nottingham Road, in Onerahi.
“They just wanted to get into a property as soon as they could, obviously before their baby comes, so they can set up and be ready for her arrival,” she said.
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She said the couple hadn’t found a house that ticked all the boxes until they saw the Nottingham Road property.
Schoonderwoerd said one of the property’s big drawcards was that it was being sold with all its whiteware.
“You know, they can turn the key, walk into it. First-time owners really struggle with getting on the ladder and if there’s any further money to be spent, they often can’t do that, you know. Particularly in a situation where you’ve got a baby coming.”
He said the vendor – a former investigative journalist named Bruce – had been happy to leave the whiteware, telling the agent it was “good quality” but too expensive to ship.
The house was stylishly presented inside. Photo / Supplied
The home sits on a 1295sqm section. Photo / Supplied
Both Bayleys agents told OneRoof that first-home buyer activity in their patch was strong.
“We’ve had first-time buyers who have bought sections off us to do new-build properties and we’ve also done sales of pre-existing homes.”
Schoonderwoerd said Onerahi was a good suburb for first-time buyers but it also boasted homes at higher and lower price points. “It has properties [worth] over a million dollars, and units at $350,000. You’ve kind of got a bit of everything.”
Schoonderwoerd said the Nottingham Road listing was a standout for another reason: the original owners come back to view it.
“They wanted to see how the property had changed since they had built it. They came through with all their kids. One, who was probably in his late 30 now, was just like, ‘Damn, this is my old room’.”
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