At auctions in Auckland last week two stylish villas – one in Ponsonby, the other in Grey Lynn – sold for more than $4 million each, showing that top prices can still be achieved under the hammer.
The Ponsonby villa, on Vermont Street, had only been on the market for a day when a buyer made an offer of $3.91m - $21,000 above CV. That was enough to bring the auction forward to last Wednesday, when two more buyers entered the fray and pushed the sale price to $4.25m, with the pre-auction bidder losing out in the end.
Bayleys agent Blair Haddow, who marketed the property with John Wills, said the auction process was still the way to market good properties.
“You don’t know how people will respond, but an auction demonstrates that really beautiful stock like this brings out discerning buyers,” Haddow said.
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The vendors had paid $3.2m for the three-bedroom home, on a 410sqm section, two years ago, just after the country came out of lockdown, and set about refurbishing the property. The listing photos show the end result, with the new owners benefiting from a swimming pool, spa and sauna, outdoor fireplace and cabana, and high-end flooring, kitchen and bathrooms.
In neighbouring Grey Lynn, a three-bedroom renovated villa on Farrar Street sold under the hammer on Thursday for $4.01m - $635,000 above its CV and almost $3m more than what it last changed hands for in 2009.
The listing agents, Matt O’Rourke and Ryan Harding, from Barfoot & Thompson, said interest in the property, which sits on 556sqm, had been high.
Harding said six bidders had registered for the auction, five of them actively bidding. “The auctioneer said it was one of the best auctions we’ve had in months. There were 26 bids and such energy. We were confident that competition would push the price to that level,” he said. “That’s a 2021 price.”
This three-bedroom villa on Farrar Street, Grey Lynn fetched $4.01m at auction. Photo / Supplied
Harding said renovated properties like the one in Farrar Street were attracting interest from downsizers from all around the city. Unlike last year, buyers were no longer willing compromise and the quality of renovation and internal garage on offer at Farrar Street set the property apart.
Like Haddow, Harding extolled the benefits of auctions, saying they brought buyers and sellers to the table quickly.
“Vendors get an unconditional sale, but they do need to be flexible on their settlement date. We’ve had a couple of Grey Lynn villas that passed in at auction but sold within a day, for just under $3m and $3.5m, both unconditional,” he said.
“Last year, buyers would compromise the things on their list – garaging, or sun, or layouts – but when a place has no compromises, like Farrar Street, buyers step up.”
However, there may be a limit to buyer purses, however.
A renovated villa on Rose Road, Grey Lynn villa, was taken off the market last month after failing to find buyers since marketing began in November. The four-bedroom home had been pitched at buyers with more than $6m to spend. It is now being offered as a short-term rental asking $1950 a week.
The top sale price for the suburb in the last 12 year was achieved in November for a near-new-build on Grosvenor Street, which sold for $5.3m. The eight-year-old four-bedroom home, with a CV of $4m, was on the market for less than a fortnight before it was snapped up.
A three-bedroom bungalow on Normans Hill Road, Onehunga sold for $2.2m. Photo / Supplied
Also in Onehunga, a four-bedroom villa on Mount Smart Road, sold for $2.5m. Photo / Supplied
Villa and bungalow sales in the next ring of Auckland suburbs have also achieved good prices.
A four-bedroom villa on Mount Smart Road, Onehunga, sold for $2.5m under the hammer in May while a stylishly renovated three-bedroom bungalow on Normans Hill Road, in the same suburb, sold for $2.2m
Ray White agent Martin Honey, who marketed the Mount Smart property with Ben Bibby, said there were five bidders at the auction – a telling point. “When it last sold three years ago [for $1.75m], there were 15 or 16 bidders. We’ve definitely got demand for character villas on full sites, but that’s the difference.”
Honey said buyers were drawn to Onehunga for better value for money – the villas are on larger sections, with good motorway and airport access and Cornwall Park right on their doorstep. “It’s the Hyde Park or Central Park of Auckland. You spend $2m here and you get a really nice place,” he said.
1 Cowell Place, in Onehunga, is priced at $1.85m. Photo / Supplied
A renovated bungalow at 120 Victoria Street, Onehunga, goes to auction on July 6. Photo / Supplied
Bayleys’ Glenn Baker, who sold the renovated three-bedroom bungalow on Normans Hill Road, said: “Last year you would have got a little bit more, but character properties haven’t come back as much. Onehunga is an acceptable suburb and you can get a pretty nice character house on a reasonable section for around $2m.”
“Character homes are selling for a lot closer to CV, while other types would be a bit lower” he said.
The suburb has good options for buyers looking for a character home. Baker has four-bedroom character home on Cowell Place priced at $1.85m while Ray White’s Josh Powell and Jared Cooksley have a four-bedroom renovated bungalow on Victoria Street going to auction on July 6.
