First home buyers in Auckland may be in luck, with agents reporting a rise in the number of listings in the sub-$700,000 category in the city.
Ray White agent Nelson Tackle says vendors are being realistic about prices, which were 10% to 15% below peak until recently. Often that meant below council valuation (CV) as well. Interest, for example, has been in the $700,000 for a large property he has about to go to auction at 16 Red Hill Road in Red Hill, despite the CV being higher.
First-home buyers should look to get into the market as soon as possible before more official cash rate (OCR) rises diminish their buying power, says Tackle. “They want to be settled before Christmas, and invite everyone round for the classic Kiwi summer barbecue.”
Fellow Ray White agent Pat Lapalapa sold a standalone freehold home on Finlayson Avenue in Clendon Park for $702,000 at auction on October 11. “It sold to an investor, but we have several first-home buyers at the auction waiting with conditional offers,” says Lapalapa. The home sold for 14.39% below CV.
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Standalone family homes start around $550,000 in Auckland. Barfoot & Thompson agent Will El-Haddawi sold a three-bedroom cross-lease home at Kennington Drive, Clendon Park, for $555,000 under the hammer on October 12.
Another Barfoot & Thompson agent, Brenda Wong, has a two-bedroom standalone cross-lease home on the market at 1/9 William Avenue in Manurewa. The home last sold in May 2021 for $565,000.
For $699,000, buyers get a freehold standalone one-bedroom home with a concrete block basement and 247sqm of land at 7D Yeoman Place, Howick.
One of the few instantly liveable freestanding sub-$700,000 homes on the market currently is 2/15 Frobisher Way, Clendon Park, which the Aussie-bound vendor wants sold. The three-bedroom home’s selling points are accessibility to motorway routes, near to schools, and a 9.8km commute to Auckland International Airport.
A very similar home built in 1989 is on the market listed with Barfoot & Thompson agent Victor Tan for $659,000 at 1/22 Silver Creek Road, Weymouth.
7D Yeoman Place in Howick, Manukau, is a one-bedroom, one-bathroom standalone home on 247sqm of land with an asking price of $699,000. Photo / Supplied
1/9 William Avenue in Manurewa, Manukau, is a two-bedroom, one-bathroom brick and tile home with an asking price of $650,000. Photo / Supplied
Good old brick and tile and concrete block units built in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s often come with change from $700,000.
Century 21 agent Derryn Mayne is selling a concrete block one-bedroom unit at 4/148 Great South Road, Manurewa for $445,000. “Fantastic opportunity to get on the property ladder,” she says. “Easy access to public transport, walking distance to Southmall, Northcrest, Sikh temple and only a short drive to the Super clinic and Manukau City.”
For not much more at $493,000 it’s possible to buy a concrete block unit of similar size in the Auckland Grammar zone at 10/4 Wynyard Road, Mount Eden, on the market with Barfoot & Thompson agent Kelly Zhang.
For $685,000 a stylish unit in upmarket One Tree Hill is on the market at 3/81 Campbell Road, One Tree Hill, on a cross-lease site, less than 100m from One Tree Hill domain. The home is for sale with Barfoot & Thompson’s Brenda Wong.
Buyers willing to take on a semi-detached home can get a three-bedroom 111sqm home with two-car internal garaging at 74 Malaspina Place, Papatoetoe. Harcourts agent Ankit Lokhande argues that it could be one of the most affordable three-bedroom homes in the city. It sits off the road in a gated community.
Choosing between the different types of properties at the sub-$700,000 mark can be daunting for first-home buyers. Daniel Coulson, chief operating officer at Ray White advises: “Buy as close to amenities as you possibly can for the budget you have.”
The amenities of importance to a buyer differ from individual to individual. Some need to be close to work in different parts of the city. Others want to be in a certain school zone, or easy distance to a public transport hub.
Coulson has a warning to those first-home buyers who are banking on buying at a lower price if they wait until next year. “I would say ‘what’s the purpose of your purchase today? Is it lifestyle? Is it to purchase a property today at a price point that is much more attractive than it might be in two or three years?’.”
Locking a home in now before interest rates rise could be a better move, says Coulson. “Don’t only consider the upfront price. Consider what the monthly or weekly cost would be at higher interest rates.”
3/81 Campbell Road in One Tree Hill, is a stylish one-bedroom unit on a cross-lease site less than 100m from One Tree Hill domain and has an asking price of $685,000. Photo / Supplied
It’s rare to find a brand-new home as opposed to an apartment for less than $700,000. But it does happen.
Wallace Stratton has two-bedroom homes in Mangere for sale with earthworks underway. The “Type A” homes at Mana Moana Landings, 36 Lyncroft Street, Mangere East, are listed at $695,000. The homes can be bought using the Kainga Ora First Home Partner scheme where buyers buy a majority share of the property to start with, then buy out the entire home later when they can afford to.
Buyers willing to look at apartments can get relative luxury in the City of Sails for less than $700,000. An example is the three-year-old one-bedroom freehold apartment at the Grace Building in the popular Victoria Park quarter. The apartment at 104/70 Sale Street is on the market for $699,000, listed with Ray White’s May Ma.
104/70 Sale Street in Auckland Central, is a one-bedroom freehold apartment at Grace Building in the popular Victoria Park quarter with an asking price of $699,000. Photo / Supplied
“The price is not a typo error,” says Ray White agent Michael Gee of the $189,000 price tag for 32 Dovedale Place, a three-bedroom townhouse in trendy Parnell. Photo / Supplied
Leasehold homes can be very cheap indeed, but sometimes difficult to get finance for because banks don’t like them.
“The price is not a typo error,” says Ray White agent Michael Gee of the $189,000 price tag on a three-bedroom townhouse in trendy Parnell. The home was built in 2000 at the height of the leaky home era, but has been completely reclad. The title for 32 Dovedale Place is leasehold and the ground rent, rates and body corporate add up to around $480 per week, which is cheaper than rent in the complex.
Homes at the very edge of the Greater Auckland region will typically sell for lower prices than closer to the city centre or transport hubs. A cottage on Stewart Street, Helensville, that had the original coal range as well as a modern stove, sold for under $700,000 in early October, as did another on Armitage Road, Wellsford.
