- A mansion in Whitford is listed with a $1 reserve, aiming for market value.
- Agent Jay Singh says the auction approach is to secure an unconditional sale quickly.
- The colonial-style home has an RV of $4.95m and has attracted significant interest.
A mansion in one of Auckland’s wealthiest suburbs could be picked up later this month for as little as $1 - although the owner would like to sell for quite a bit more.
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The country estate at 72 Potts Road, in Whitford, has hit the market with an ultra-low reserve, but Ray White listing agent Jay Singh believes the gamble will pay off.
He told OneRoof his vendor just wanted to get straight to the point.
“He goes, ‘Look, I don’t like the idea of mucking people around. I like to have a gentleman’s agreement. It’s worth its weight in gold’,” Singh said.
The four-bedroom brick mansion is stylishly presented. Photo / Supplied
The property sits on nearly two hectares in one of Auckland’s wealthiest suburbs. Photo / Supplied
“He sees all these properties online, people saying they’re keen to sell, but then they pass in or they’ve been on the market for 12 to 18 months. The conversation evolved, and he said, ‘I just want it gone. I’m happy to take market value’.”
The agent said his vendor saw that auctions were the best approach to get an unconditional sale, and then he suggested a $1 reserve.
“We actually toyed with the idea of a 50-cent reserve, which I don’t think anyone’s done, but we just thought it sounds a little bit too cheap. A dollar is more reasonable,” Singh laughed.
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The agent has already shown the property to his database of buyers and is fielding a lot of interest.
“We’re pretty stoked. We even had people come back to us, hilariously, saying, ‘Is this a scam?’,” he said, adding that there are some “truly great” buyers looking at the moment.
The home, built in colonial style, has an RV of $4.95 million. Records show it changed hands in 2019 for $3.56m and that improvements had been made in the years since.
The property has an RV of $4.95m and, according to property records, last changed hands in 2019 for $3.56m. Photo / Supplied
Singh said current market conditions meant the $1 reserve wasn’t such a high-stakes gamble, noting that his team had eight properties under contract, with prices ranging from $1.5m to $2.9m.
Last month, a $1 reserve auction at Singh’s Ray White Manukau office yielded a $735,000 result for a four-bedroom townhouse in Avondale.
Thirty-five bidders registered for the former rental property.
At the time, Ray White Manukau co-owner Tom Rawson told OneRoof: “There are people that will know that the $1 reserves will fetch somewhere near market value so they don’t bother and there are others who go, ‘Hey, you’ve got to be in to win’.”
- 72 Potts Road, in Whitford, Auckland, goes to auction with a $1 reserve on April 27
