A smart four-bedroom house on the waterside cliffs in Auckland’s eastern bays sold last week for $5.5 million, $2.435m more than what the vendor paid for it in 2018.
Listed with Bayleys agent Murray Wallace, the 842sqm property on Riddell Road, in Glendowie, had an offer on it within two weeks of it hitting the market.
Bayleys St Heliers sales manager John Wills said this was a sign of the times.
“Yes, the vendors had added a pool, but the real rise was just the market. We had five or six people keen to bid, and they were all in and around that $5m mark. The pre-auction buyer put in a huge offer and that bought the place," he said.
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“This is a nice house, but there was still the potential to do more, buyer feedback was that you might want to spend a few hundred thousand on a new kitchen or decorating to Urbis magazine standards, nothing structural.
“It’s a tightly held market, not a lot of properties come up and all the buyer feedback was they were shopping with around $5m.
“The rule of thumb used to be that you’d double the price every 10 years, well that’s no longer the case in this market.”
The pre-auction bidder won the house with no other bids. Wills said there were still properties to be found for $5m, but Riddell Road was a “destination location” for buyers who, when they bought, then wanted to stay for the long haul.
In September, a 1990s house on Riddell Road sold for $5m. Photo / Supplied
He told OneRoof that the sale of another estate on Riddell Road in September for $5m raised the market.
In the auction for that house, a 1990s build wrapped around the original 1940s cottage, marketed by Bayleys agent David Nightingale, three bidders pushed the price $1.1m over the reserve price, to almost double its council valuation of council valuation of $2.75m.
And a year ago, two other properties on Riddell Road sold for big sums, one for $4.9 million, $950,000 over its 2017 ratings valuation, in October and the other in August for $6.25m
The 379sqm house on Riddell Road with a swimming pool and tropical landscaping sold in August last year for $6.25m. Photo / Supplied
Also putting down $5.5m were the buyers of a modest 1960s brick and weatherboard house on Seaview Road, Remuera in double grammar zone. The four-bedroom house, on the market for the first time in nearly 50 years, was marketed by Bayleys agents Gary, Vicki and Andrew Wallace.
Gary Wallace said that the 16 bidders for the property were after its grandstand harbour views and the potential of the 956sqm section.
“It’s really the land value because at the end of the day, the purchaser will knock the house down and build a substantial dwelling to match that fantastic view shaft.
“People could now spend $3m to $4m on a new build, but with an architect design, you’d be looking at a property worth well north of $10m.”
Wallace said that this sort of property attracted buyers who were looking for a special site, rather than active searchers.
“This attracts people who come out for a special site, they’re motivated by that site and that aspect. So they’ll just disappear again until something else really motivates them.”
Sixteen bidders drove the price of a 1960s house on Seaview Road, Remuera to $5.5m. Photo / Supplied
At the same auction, a four-bedroom modern home on Dilworth Avenue, also marketed by the Wallaces, sold for $4.155m. It last sold five and a half years ago for $2.75m and Wallace said expectations had been that it would sell in the high $3m range.
“But there were two people battling it out well past $4m. What does $3m buy you this week?”
Wallace said that there were already offers in play for the five new listings to market in the last week - all for over $3m. However, he said vendors sometimes misinterpreted the speed of offers to mean they could hold out for higher prices.
“It’s very property specific, but when a property ticks the boxes, buyers act quickly. But vendors have got to understand those buyers may have been in the market for three or more months, so they really know their values.”
He pointed to a stylish four-bedroom house on 151A Paritai Drive that had a pre-auction offer last weekend after less than a week on the market and is going to auction Thursday.
A house on Dilworth Avenue fetched $4.155m, well above its expected high-$3m estimate. Photo / Supplied
“This is a classic case: a genuine buyer who missed out on others, who is motivated to get settled by Christmas. It will sell, with probably three or four other bidders on the phone.”
Two weeks ago, an architect-designed five-bedroom villa on Grange Road, Mount Eden sold at auction for $7.5m after only seven days on the market.
An award-winning villa on Grange Road, Mount Eden, sold for $7.5m. Photo / Supplied
UP Real Estate agent Roberta Stewart, who marketed the house and a self-contained pool house with Hayley Kirk-Smith, told OneRoof that in that time the pair had hosted over 60 private viewings, with an offer of $6.6m bringing the auction forward.
Eight registered bidders on auction day pushed the price to $7.5m. OneRoof records show the house had last sold five years ago, pre-pool and renovation, for $2.5m.
