Two Auckland villas - one in Grey Lynn, the other in Devonport - shot past their CVs when they sold under the hammer yesterday.
Both villas had been renovated and featured the luxury finishes that the top of the market is demanding right now.
3 Farrar Street, in Grey Lynn, sold for $3.6 million to a buyer who was house-hunting for their children. The opening bid for the four-bedroom home was $2.8 million - more than $300,000 above the 2017 CV.
OneRoof records show it last sold in 2016 for $1.565 million, handing the vendor a profit, on paper at least, of $2 million.
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Bayleys sales agent Blair Haddow, who marketed the property with a campaign starting just over three weeks ago, told OneRoof buyer interest had been high.
"It’s my 14th auction since the lockdown and the buyers are really active and we get tremendous results, particularly when it’s a renovated villa [like 3 Farrar Street],” he said.
3 Farrar Street, Grey Lynn, is two-level home with an impressive entertainment and living area. Photo / Supplied
Haddow's marketing boasted that the villa was one of Grey Lynn's finest. Unlike many updated villas in the area, which extend the back of the property, 3 Farrar Street openss out onto the back garden over two levels.
The lower level has been designed as an entertainment area with a high-spec chef’s kitchen, custom cabinetry and heated floors. The upper level has three bedrooms and a north facing sundeck with views of Waitakere Ranges.
The bedrooms look out over the Waitakere Ranges. Photo / Supplied
Another villa, at 13 Oxford Terrace, Devonport, on the city's North Shore, fetched $4.19 million at the same Bayleys auction.
The four-bedroom home, which sold $1.2 million above its CV, had been extensively renovated by its owner, renowned interior architect Penny Hay, who combined villa’s original features with clean and minimalistic urban design.
OneRoof records show the property last sold in 2012 for $1.508 million delivering a paper profit of $2.68 million.
Bayleys sales agent Victoria Bidwell, who marketed the property, had told OneRoof during the campaign that everyone who viewed the Cheltenham Beach villa was blown away.
Interior architect Penny Hay. Photo / Supplied
“It’s a unique property and there is nothing else like it at all. You’ve got the combination of incredible design and the most high quality materials available,” Bidwell says.
“The owners have covered off absolutely everything and of course the beach side location is superb,” she said.
Hay told OneRoof this month that she bought the villa as an opportunity to embark on a renovation project combining the old and the new.
She knocked down walls to open up the inside and almost doubled the property's size with a modern extension at the rear of the building.
"There's a real charm in all old buildings. You cannot replicate the heritage, the essence and the worn-ness of the materials and the way buildings aged. It holds so much beauty, for me, personally,” Hay says.
Hay is about to start a new project and is putting her villa on the market, saying she feels confident that new owners will appreciate all the love and care they’ve put into the home.
Living and bedroom wings at 18 Oxford Terrace are arranged around a tranquil courtyard. Photo / Supplied
Interest in renovated villas is high. Bayleys agent Linda Simmons, who sells in Devonport, told OneRoof this month that she had expat Kiwis make multi-million-dollar offers even though they've only seen the house online.
“It’s always happened and now it’s happening more,” Simmons says.
Simmons said fans of Devonport villas tend to hold off moving anywhere else in the hope the one they are after comes on the market.
