Do-up properties are in demand in Wellington, with buyers all vying to pick up what they hope will be bargain properties.
Investors, homeowners and flippers all crowded into Bayleys’ Wellington auction room last week to bid on a selection of homes that all needed a lot of work.
Bayleys Wellington general manager Grant Henderson told OneRoof there was renewed demand for “value-add” homes, especially if the location was good.
“Retro and quality – those are things people like,” he said.
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There had been a period when buyers had shied away from do-ups due to financing and build costs, but this no longer appeared to be the case.
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“The trades aren’t as busy or as impossible to find as they were – materials are readily available and prices have come back slightly. People aren’t as shy about buying do-ups or renos, especially where there’s a good location.”
Properties considered to be in good locations were those near shops and services or in good school zones, he said.
“Those who aren’t afraid of doing the do-ups are feeding the market of those who can’t do the do-ups.”
Henderson said the improved properties were usually picked up by first-home buyers when they came back to market.
The home's interior was completely original with bright yellow patterned wallpaper and threadbare orange carpet. Photo / Supplied
Five of six properties called at the Wellington auction last week sold under the hammer.
One of the homes, a retro 1950s house on Purser Grove, in Fairfield, sold for $465,000 after intense competition. Eleven people had registered to bid on the property, which had an RV of $610,000 and had last changed hands in 1988 for $300,000.
The listing described the property as a “blank canvas” that was “perfect for you to undertake your next renovation project or even a complete rebuild to add value”. The listing photos showed dated yellow wallpaper and an orange carpet.
A five-bedroom, two-bathroom villa on Rintoul Street, in Newtown, was also in demand, with four investors battling it out before the property sold under the hammer for $925,000.
Henderson said investors were still in the market for properties with good yields of between 6% and 7%.
Investors were fighting over a five-bedroom villa on Rintoul Street, in Newtown. Photo / Supplied
“The signals are there – buy now and when interest rates settle back slightly you are on the upside again.”
Bayleys listing agent Ben Atwill said the Newtown villa, which has an RV of $1.46m, was still in good condition. “It was impeccably maintained. It looked like it never had a dirty day in its life.”
The new owner planned to give the villa a makeover before adding it to the rental pool.
Its central location made it in high demand with renters, Atwill added, because two big hospitals were within a five-minute walk, the central Newtown shops were nearby, Massey University was a short bus ride and the airport was a 10-minute drive away.
A derelict mansion on Hatton Street, in Karori, will be returned to its former glory after selling for $1.21m. Photo / Supplied
A derelict mansion in Karori linked to a criminal enterprise also sold for $1.21m, which was significantly below its RV of $3.41m. The home had been listed for sale for almost a year with a different agency before being sold at the Bayleys auction.
The boarded-up eight-bedroom home on Hatton Street, in Karori, Wellington, was declared on the market at $1.175m by Bayleys’ auctioneer, with the hammer coming down two minutes later after a total of 23 bids.
The 1950s weatherboard home, which sits on a 2333sqm section, was marketed as a renovation project and appeared to have been bought by someone who planned to do it up and live in it.
The location and large land size had all been huge selling points, he said.
Bayleys listing agent Mitch Agnew told OneRoof after the auction that the Hatton Street property had been popular, with nine bidders competing for the property.
He said a lot of the buyers were looking for a project, but some were also looking for a bargain.
“There were people genuinely looking to restore and live in it and – if it was going to go cheap enough – to renovate it and then put it back on the market.”
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