A luxury property in one of Auckland’s blue-chip eastern suburbs sold at auction last week for $4.9 million - $950,000 over its 2017 CV.
The four-bedroom home at 167 Riddell Road, Glendowie, was on a 1573sqm estate with “270 degree views”, says Ray White agent Ross Tierney, who marketed the property with Andrew Fava.
“It’s a nice home, but it’s still crazy numbers – we had 50 groups through and eight registered bidders,” Tierney says.
Fava says that bidders included a buyer who had missed out on the luxury property at 407 Riddell Road the pair sold in August, just before lockdown, for $6.25 million.
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Just before August lockdown, a property at 407 Riddell Road sold for $6.25 million. Photo / supplied
The pair said expectations on 167 Riddell Road were around the mid-$4 million, but with an opening bid of $4.4 million, they were “blown away. We never thought it would go for [$4.9 million].”
OneRoof records show that the property last sold in April 2018, handing the vendor a profit, on paper a least, of $1.1 million.
Fava and Tierney say Glendowie and neighbouring Meadowbank are catching up with Remuera in terms of prices.
Properties in Glendowie are attracting buyers from Remuera looking for more space and the outdoor attractions of the water-side suburb. Photo / supplied
“Parts of Remuera have gone for $10 million to $20 million, but for people wanting a lifestyle change but staying in Auckland, they get more lifestyle out [in Glendowie] – a bigger place, bushwalks and waterways and the yacht club, and all very good schools.”
Ray White Remuera agent Nick Lyus sees the same phenomenon in Greenlane, where he sold 18 Matai Road under the hammer for $2.8 million. “People are looking for a big family home, and are happy to be outside grammar zone, that’s the target market,” he says.
The property attracted 55 groups and Lyus says that it originally had four registered buyers
“But such is the speed of the market, some had already purchased before auction day,” he says.
A strategic renovation of 18 Matai Road, Greenlane, brought the owners $2.8 million at auction. Photo / supplied
Lyus had first worked with the vendors some 18 months ago, assessing the property then to be worth around $2.3 million. Working with his wife Philly, an interior designer and former homestager, they advised the owners that cosmetic renovations could help achieve the best price for their property.
“The target market is people who want move-in ready. Carpet, paint and home staging is 90 percent of it, but it needs one ‘wow’ thing too. We did the kitchen – it's the emotional centre – and jobs for the building inspection. It’s more than just de-cluttering and furniture.”
The couple estimate that an $80,000 spend lifted the value by $300,000 to $400,000.
A smart renovation of the kitchen attracted the right target market to the house at 18 Matai Road, Greenlane. Photo / supplied
Lyus says that off-market deals are becoming more frequent as vendors see the improved price results and ask agents to hook them up with buyers who have missed out in the auction market.
“I’ve never ever experienced a market like this,” says Ray White New Zealand chief auctioneer John Bowring.
For an average of 86 percent of auctions selling under the hammer – 90 percent in the last two weeks – has experienced auctioneers gobsmacked.
"The volume is there, there are plenty of listings, but just not enough property for the buyers. We're seeing a lot more bidding. People see that if they don’t bid on what they want, they’re missing out. It’s just out of control.”
At auctions this week across Auckland, from Papakura to Royal Oak, Mount Eden and Papakura Bowring says there were up to six bidders registered for each auction. The company average is a new high of 4.8 bidders per auction.
“I’m starting to see the same buyers a lot more. I recognise one woman, she’s missed out five times in the last month.”
And auction volumes are building through the month, as the seasonal upswing really kicks in. In Ray White Remuera alone, Bowring says there are 10 auctions in one day next week with another 19 the following week. One property’s auction is being brought forward after only six days on the market, a growing trend he estimates is affecting one in five auctions at the moment.
“People won’t stop going to auctions because everyone needs a place to live.”
