Buyers are returning to Auckland's auction rooms in bigger numbers, with some agents reporting sales where 10 to 12 bidders are fighting to secure a property.
Harcourts Cooper & Co auctioneer Andrew North said that after two or three months of standing on the sidelines, buyers were starting to put up their hands. “Last week I saw a whole lot of faces that I’ve seen for the last two or three months now aggressively bidding,” he told OneRoof.
“They can see it’s not a buyers’ market, and there comes a moment when they’re no longer saying ‘I’ve got time’. They can see prices are not going to go down, and they’re afraid if they hold off any longer, then their buying power will go down as interest rates go up.”
Harcourts agent Ian Cunliffe saw that last month, when five bidders competed for a three-bedroom 1940s house on Vincent Road, Northcote Point. He said buyers looking at the original-condition house, on the market for the first time since 1946, realised they had to act.
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“People know that it’s time to make buying decisions, they’re used to the new interest rates and they’re seeing the volume [of sales] in high value areas is picking up,” Cunliffe said. The house sold for $1.78m, just under its CV of $1.84m.
Ray White Parnell agent Dean Tuffley told OneRoof he had 10 registered bidders at a recent auction of a three-bedroom bungalow on Korokino Road, in Greenlane. The property sold for $1.825m - $200,000 above the CV.
Twelve bidders turned out to compete for a cottage in Fergusson Avenue, in Sandringham. Photo / Supplied
Tuffley said both buyers and sellers were more accepting of the change in market conditions. “Buyers are looking for value and vendors are becoming more realistic,” he said.
“They understand they’re buying and selling in the same market conditions. All my properties are auctioned, because that gives certainty of a sale. It doesn’t cost you more; all you’re paying is the $1000 auctioneers’ fee. People who don’t auction because they’re afraid of not selling, that’s their first mistake. You've got to create competition or things aren’t selling.”
Tuffley conceded that some properties would attract more attention than others. His Korokino Road bungalow had 110 people through the open homes. The property was well-presented, in a good location on a quiet street and ticked all the boxes for buyers shopping in the $1.5m to $1.8m price bracket.
Tuffley said the sale price had given some of his customers renewed confidence, with his new listings ranging in price from $1.5m to $3m.
Ray White Sandringham agent Susan Woods-Markwick told OneRoof she had 12 bidders turn up for the auction of a three-bedroom cottage on Fergusson Avenue, in Sandringham. The deceased estate, on the market for the first time in 43 years and in need of work, ended up selling for $1.65m.
A four-bedroom house on Aliford Avenue, One Tree Hill, sold for $1.825m after seven bidders registered for the auction. Photo / Supplied
“We think the $1.65m sale price was extremely fair. Well done-up houses around here are going for $2.3m to $2.5m,” she said.
Although there are still buyers out looking for bargains, price expectations had changed. “About six weeks ago, it changed, and it’s really competitive going into an auction now,” she said, adding that buyers were now just ready to get on with it and secure a home before interest rates go up.
Ray White Remuera agent Ari Starr told OneRoof he had noticed a similar shift in buyer intentions.
He cited the recent auction sale of a tidy four-bedroom house on Aliford Avenue, in One Tree Hill, for $1.4m. "We had 70 groups through the open homes - a mixture of first home buyers and buyers looking to step up," he said. Seven buyers registered for the auction – a huge improvement on the numbers Starr was used to seeing this year.
A five bedroom house in Westbourne Road, Remuera, deliberately marketed as going for below CV sold at auction for $7m this week. It's CV was $7.4m. Photo / Supplied
“All this year we’ve had two or three bidders at our auctions, but a few weeks ago we started getting five, six, even 10 bidders,” he said. “People are quite happy to buy, regardless of market conditions, if it’s a good quality home. A lot of first home buyers like a place where there is scope to add a bit of value.”
Even at the top end of the market, realistic vendors are seeing results.
Ray White Remuera agents Steve and Nila Koerber said they recently sold at auction a five bedroom-house on Westbourne Road, in Remuera, for $7m. They said the vendors were committed to selling below the property’s CV of $7.4m.
“It was a deliberate strategy to let the market know that they can have it below that price. The vendors knew it was a very large piece of land, they were realistic about what [the property] was worth,” they said.
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