- A Christchurch house filled with junk sold at auction for $368,000 after fierce bidding.
- Seven bidders competed for the Estuary Road property, described as “not for the faint-hearted”.
- A developer snapped it up with a last-minute bid, and plans to build townhouses on the 759sqm site.
A Christchurch house overflowing with junk became a magnet for developers and bargain hunters at auction last week.
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Bidding on the three-bedroom, one-bathroom home on Estuary Road, in South New Brighton, started at $250,000 and quickly gathered pace, with the hammer coming down seven minutes and 29 bids later at $368,000.
Seven buyers had registered to bid at the Bayleys auction, five of whom put their hands up in the room.
On the surface, it was an odd home to be fighting over. The listing on OneRoof described the property as “not for the faint-hearted” and warned buyers would need hard hats to view it.
The house was sold “as is, where is” and billed as “not for the faint-hearted”. Photo / Supplied
“The lawns and gardens are overgrown, the yard has car bodies, there’s even a caravan, someone’s junk is another man’s treasure, so be sure to check it out,” listing agent David Archibald wrote.
The owner, who vacated the house at least 15 years ago, was living in a retirement village and, according to Archibald, was selling the property “as is, where is” to release some funds.
Everyone interested in it planned to bowl it or completely rebuild it, Archibald told OneRoof, adding that flippers weren’t interested because it needed too much work.
Bidding during the auction was strong, but there was an extra dollop of drama when a third buyer appeared from nowhere and knocked out two lead bidders.
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“It sort of dismayed the two other bidders,” Archibald said.
“They were the last man and woman standing and they were just trying to knock each other off the perch ... and then they just got gazumped by this last bid.”
The property, which has an RV of $405,000, was snapped by a developer who plans to bowl and build two to three townhouses on the 759sqm site.
Archibald said the sale price far exceeded his expectations and he put this down to people wanting entry-level opportunities in the area.
“There was obviously going to be quite a lot of hard work involved in clearing the site.”
New Brighton is still seen as an affordable entry-level coastal suburb for first-home buyers or developers. “It’s an area of Christchurch that hasn’t really taken off yet,” Archibald said.
“Your land value is still quite affordable.”
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