An impressive home in Christchurch's Avonhead has left the suburb’s previous record for dust, selling under the hammer for $2.2 million, almost $1m more than its new RV.
The five-bedroom, three-bathroom home on Westall Lane was snapped up by out-of-towners wanting to secure it as their family home.
There were 11 registered bidders at the auction last week, but only four got a chance to bid as the price rose in increments of $100,000 then $50,000.
Bayleys listing agent Adam Heazlewood said it was a “huge” result and exceeded everyone’s expectations.
Start your property search
The biggest sale price for Avonhead last year was $1.5m for a home on Maidstone Road – while the biggest sale price for the area overall was $1.95m, paid in 2017 for a house on Avonhead Road. “And this sold for $2.2m so a quarter of a million dollars more,” Heazlewood said. “Even through the boom of the market there wasn’t even anything that touched near this price.”
Read more:
- Gone in less than a fortnight: Stunning Christchurch home snapped up for $3.925m
- The $1 Christchurch mansion is back on the market after multi-million-dollar makeover
- US car collector sells his Auckland holiday mansion for $20m
The sale price is also significantly higher than Avonhead's average property value, which the latest OneRoof house price figures have at $787,000, down 4.4% on the same time last year.
The Westall Lane home, which sits on a 1500sqm section and has an RV of $1.38m, was unique for the area and 72 groups visited the open homes, including families from around Christchurch, empty-nesters and out-of-towners.
“It was a really lovely home, very flexible floor plan, private land – big section. People thought it was a great house. We had such great feedback about it.”
Heazlewood said the same property in one of Christchurch’s more high-end suburbs such as Fendalton would be worth $3.5m. “So, I suppose that’s the real value for money, but for the area of Avonhead it’s a phenomenal sale – a lot of people have been talking about it over the last week.”
Well-presented properties in Avonhead such as this family home on Westall Lane are in demand. Photo / Supplied
This four-bedroom home at 24 Felstead Place, in Avonhead, Christchurch, goes to auction on April 6. Photo / Supplied
Heazlewood said there seems to be increasing demand for good homes in Avonhead as a property at 24 Felstead Place in Avonhead, which is in a much lower price range than the Westall Lane home, has also been getting a lot of attention.
“I can’t put my finger on what the major change is – that was a good house and drew people into the market, but even Felstead Place has had better numbers than we are used to seeing at the moment. There’s definitely general buyer demand but no one specifically saying why.”
Harcourts salesperson Zani Polson said the homes that seem to be in demand in Avonhead were those that were well-presented and move-in ready.
She just sold a four-bedroom, two-bathroom home on Algie Place in Avonhead at auction last week for $975,000 with 48 groups viewing it. "It is a nice family-friendly area that has always held its values well.”
It was also zoned for good primary schools and the majority of Avonhead was zoned for Burnside High as well, she said. The close proximity to the airport also helped, she said.
“A lot of families move in and they just stay there because they can and a lot of the houses are quite substantial so you get some good longevity out of the homes.”
Meanwhile, the auction sale record for Christchurch is held by a five-bedroom 1930s house on a huge 4961sqm riverside section on Glandovey Road in Fendalton that sold at a Bayleys auction for $6.825m four years ago, followed closely by a property on Helmores Lane which sold under the hammer for $6.8m in October last year.
- Click here for more properties for sale in Avonhead
