Seven bidders drove the price of a three-bedroom brick and tile unit in Auckland to $1.71 million - $180,00 above the reserve and more than half a million dollars over the CV.
The sale price fetched by the vendors of 34C Edmund Street, in St Heliers, is a sign that the housing market is regaining momentum after almost two months of lockdown and restrictions on open homes.
It was one of several homes to sell for well over CV at auctions held in Auckland this week.
Ray White New Zealand chief auctioneer John Bowring, who brought the hammer down on the Edmund Street property, said the auctions this week were the first real test of the housing market since the country moved to alert level two.
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“Bidders were all sold and ready to buy, and wow, it just went like 2015. This is 100 per cent better than pre-lockdown,” he told OneRoof.
Ray White offices sold more than $8.3 million worth of property under the hammer this week, with Bowring declaring that the energy was well and truly back in the auction rooms.
“You can really feel buyers are energized to be back in an environment where they have that emotional connection with the auctioneer, agent and the property. All of this of course, while adhering to the social distancing measures,” he said.
“There’s no doubt it’s a seller’s market out there at the moment.”
Ray White agent Ross Tierney said the auction for 34C Edmund Street was brought forward after a pre-auction offer, adding that the bidders in the room were mostly down-sizing boomers.
He told OneRoof that he sold the neighbouring unit for $1.292 million just before lockdown, making the price for 34C even more remarkable. It was only photographed and brought to market on the first day of alert level three.
“The market hasn’t been as busy in the nine years I’ve been in real estate,” he said.
“There are new people coming into the market - they haven’t sold [pre lockdown], they just want to buy.”
OneRoof understands that a lot off-market deals are being inked in Auckland, with one property selling for $6 million and another for around $4 million.
Bowring said there was a real shortage of stock at all price points.
16 Summer Street, in Auckland’s Ponsonby, sold for $2.38 million. Photo / Supplied
In Ponsonby, a villa at 16 Summer Street sold under the hammer for $2.38 million - $380,000 above CV.
Ray White agent Cristina Casares, who marketed the property, said: “We started the campaign one week before lockdown, but still managed to attract 35 people through the open homes and private inspections.”
Ray White New Zealand chief operating officer Gavin Croft, who called auctions himself, said vendors should look past the speculative property rhetoric.
“The fact is we have the deepest buyer pool we’ve arguably ever had and these buyers are actively enquiring, actively submitting offers and actively bidding at auction,” he said.
“There seems to be a lot of incorrect information about property prices dropping. But when we look at our data – prices are more than holding their own right now.
“Buyers really have hit the ground running.”
Other highlights at auctions in Auckland this week included: a three-bedroom bungalow at 60 Bolton Street in Blockhouse Bay, which went for $1.03 million; an apartment at 412/3 Bluegrey Avenue, Stonefields, which sold for $800,000, $240,000 above CV; and a five-bedroom home at 12 Hunterville Court, Ellerslie, which sold for $1.585 million.
