The owner of an immaculately renovated bungalow on Auckland’s North Shore felt like she had one Lotto after a crazy auction frenzy broke out for her home.
The four-bedroom, two-bathroom property on Hart Road, in Hauraki, had only been on the market for a week when it exceeded the seller’s expectations by $250,000 and sold under the hammer for $2.3 million.
The seller had rejected the first pre-auction offer made the same day the listing for the property went live, but accepted the second offer two days later for $100,000 more at $2.05m.
The auction for the home was called four days later and had five registered bidders including one buyer listening in on the phone from his holiday spot in Bali. There were three bidders in the room who had arranged bridging finance and still had their current homes to sell, while a fourth buyer who made the acceptable pre-auction offer had just sold their home four days earlier but missed out at Thursday's auction.
Start your property search
- 'Mortgagee mansion' snapped up for $9m relisted for sale three months later
- Real estate drama: Four real estate deals that left agent in tears
- Inside NZ's biggest house sale of 2024: How local family fought off international jet-setters
Harcourts Cooper & Co salesperson Rachael Bridger said it was a real anomaly and there were 71 groups through the first and only weekend of open homes.
“People saw it and just went crazy over it,” she said.
“It’s not all doom and gloom. There are buyers out there, it’s just for immaculately finished homes and things like that.”
The owner, who had already bought another home in the area closer to the beach, had been in the auction room watching in shock, Bridger said.
The four-bedroom, two-bathroom home had undergone a high-spec renovation in 2016. Photo / Supplied
“It was like winning Lotto for her. She was sitting in the auction room with her family surrounding her and she was just blown away. She was so happy.
“She just said I’ve just made $250,000. They were happy to walk away at $2.050m so it was very cool.”
Most of the buyers were families were looking to upgrade their current homes and move into the popular suburb for the school zones. The single-level open home had undergone a high-spec renovation in 2016 and had solar panels, outdoor louvers and automatic blinds, which ticked a lot of boxes for buyers.
“It was that typical Kiwi dream home. It had the indoor-outdoor flow, it had some grass, single level so the kids can play close to mum and dad in the kitchen.”
The four-bedroom, two-bathroom home on Sydney Street, in Hauraki, sold last week for $1.775m. Photo / Supplied
Homes in the area usually sold between $1.5m to $2m, Bridger said, so to get $2.3m for a four-bedroom, two-bathroom home on a cross-lease section was "exceptional".
“It got a price at the kind of level [with a pool] without the pool and it’s like wow people are just wanting to pay to get into the area.”
Meanwhile another four-bedroom, two-bathroom home on a 504sqm freehold section in Hauraki that passed in at auction last week has now sold for $1.775m after two offers were later made on it.
Bridger said the Sydney Street home was just another example of how many people wanted to move into the area. Hauraki was becoming an increasingly popular area for people wanting to be zoned for Hauraki Primary, Belmont Immediate and Takapuna Grammar.
“It has become a niche suburb for people to get into, it’s quite desirable. It’s one of those family-oriented suburbs – good parks and close to the beach.”
- Click here to find more properties for sale in Auckland
