A plaster townhouse in an ‘as is, where is’ condition that one agent thought would be impossible to sell so they rejected the listing ended up sparking a bidding war at auction.
The three-bedroom, two-bathroom property on Winchester Street, in Merivale, Christchurch, sold for $465,000 after a competitive auction on Thursday, which saw three cash buyers fight for it.
Harcourts Grenadier salesperson Lin Ma said she was “very surprised by the outcome” of Thursday’s auction because only cash buyers could purchase the plaster home in its current condition on a cross-lease section.
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Bidding for the Winchester Street property opened at $250,000 and crept up in mainly $10,000 bids. It was announced on the market at $415,000 and eventually sold for $465,000.
The new owner of the Winchester Street property plans to keep the current tenants who are paying $580 a week. Photo / Supplied
“There were three people who really wanted it. It’s just the location.”
Ma put the strong bidding down to the good location, school zones and the entry-level price.
The home was surrounded by private schools and was also zoned for the sought-after Christchurch Girls’ High School, Christchurch Boys’ High and Burnside High.
The property attracted interest from both property traders and investors, but was eventually won by an investor who was overseas and planned to continue renting it out to the existing tenants who were paying $580 a week.
“If people want to buy a rental – what can you buy for $400,000 with tenants who want to keep on renting. It’s a good return and even if the whole lot was damaged again and also no insurance then you have the land value to cover you for that location – so I guess nothing to lose to be honest.”
Ma said the owner had approached another agent first about listing the home, but they had refused to take it on.
“That agent didn’t want the job – they thought there’s no way we can sell cross-lease, as is, plaster.”
A stellar location was also the key selling point for another three-bedroom, two-bathroom deceased estate in Ilam that was sold at auction within two weeks of hitting the market.
The brought-forward auction opened and was announced on the market at $980,000, but sold for $1.071 million after some fierce competition. There were five buyers in the room and three who actively bid for it.
A three-bedroom, two-bathroom home on Tuirau Road, in Ilam, exceeded expectations when it sold under the hammer for $1.071m last week. Photo / Supplied
Harcourts Grenadier listing agent Julie Proctor said there was “fast and furious bidding” for the Tuirau Place do-up, which offered the opportunity for people to get into the area and be in zone for some popular schools including Burnside High for supposedly under $1m.
The bidding “went on and on and on” and eventually came down to an older couple and young family both fighting for it, she said.
The older couple eventually won the auction and were relocating from Akaroa to a smaller property in Christchurch.
“It was surprising because usually in that demographic they are not looking for a do-up and I think they are just looking to repaint and replace the bathrooms and kitchen, but it’s still quite a significant update.”
Proctor said the family member who she had been dealing with over the sale had been in tears on the phone when she learned of the result.
“She couldn’t believe it with the brought-forward figure at $980,000 so to get anything else was a bonus. I’ve had quite a few auctions like this in the last couple of months.”
Proctor said when two to three people fought for a property, they determined the value of that property – not the agent.
“We can put all the facts and figures around it as much as we like, but if people want it enough that’s where the power of auction really comes into play. You will never know if you don’t try it first.”
There were seven buyers all competing for a lifestyle section in Prebbleton, which sold well over reserve for $1.33m Photo / Supplied
There were more surprises at a Harcourts Gold auction when a lifestyle block in an exclusive subdivision in Prebbleton, which is a 10-minute drive from Christchurch, went under the hammer on Thursday.
There were seven people vying for the empty 5000sqm section on Penberley Road, in Prebbleton. Bidding started at $600,000, it was announced on the market at $1.075m before the hammer finally dropped at $1.33m.
Harcourts listing agent Jack Milligan said it was the last remaining section in the sought-after subdivision, which seemed to be attracting even more people since Prebbleton Village opened two years ago.
The bidders were all local buyers trying to get their hands on the property to build their next home.
“It’s just showing that Prebbleton is quite popular at the moment. It’s sort of an up-and-coming suburb and it’s been quite undervalued out there for the last year or so I think – that’s my personal opinion.”
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