- An Auckland penthouse sold for $1.775m, but the buyer declined to take the $250,000 Porsche.
- Retiree Kevin Austin sold the Victoria Avenue apartment to fund his world travels.
- The buyer, who already has a “lovely car”, was the only bidder at the auction.
Auckland retiree Kevin Austin got $1.775 million for his Remuera penthouse at auction last week, but the buyer said no to the $250,000 sports car that came with the apartment.
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Austin, who is about to embark on a round-the-world trip at the age of 77, listed his Porsche 911 Turbo S as one of the chattels at his Victoria Avenue penthouse. He added the luxury car to sweeten the deal for prospective buyers.
The Victoria Heights apartment block is just a short walk to Remuera Village. Photo / Supplied
The owner has carried out two major upgrades to the apartment, including putting in a new kitchen. Photo / Supplied
However, the winning bidder at Ray White Remuera’s auction wasn’t interested. Listing agent Ben Ryken told OneRoof: “The buyer is not a Porsche driver. I have a feeling she already owns a lovely car and didn’t want to swap it.
“It’s ironic as everyone at the open homes loved the Porsche.”
Because the buyer was the only bidder at the auction, the property was taken off the floor, and both parties negotiated a deal, Ryken told OneRoof.
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Austin will now have to find another buyer for his cobalt blue Porsche. He bought the car five years ago - after buying the penthouse 10 years ago for just over $1m.
Ryken said Austin was happy with the apartment sale and would be “packing his bags with certainty”. Before the auction, the agent said Austin was prepared to meet the market for the apartment, which has an RV of $2m.
Austin told OneRoof last month he had spent a bit renovating the apartment, including adding a new kitchen and bathroom and installing double glazing and gas heating. “It’s a wonderful apartment, it has fantastic views. I would have no problem moving in there again if I had to,” he said.
The penthouse apartment has impressive views across the harbour and of the city. Photo / Supplied
He told OneRoof he put the car and apartment on the block because he wasn’t able to take them on his trip. “I don’t have any use for that apartment and I don’t have any use for the car,” he said.
“In normal circumstances [the car] would be worth $250,000 ... but if the property reaches the reserve, I will discount it quite a bit because I don’t want the hassle of selling it.”
Austin said he was not much of a road-tripper, so the car only had 26,000km on the clock. He joked he would probably miss the car more than the apartment. “I’ve always liked Porsches, I think it’s about the fourth Porsche I’ve had.”
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