A house in Auckland’s wealthy Remuera heads to auction at the end of the month with a declared reserve of less than $950,000.
Listing agent Ben Ryken, from Ray White, said the reserve was unusual in a suburb where homes frequently sell for well over $2 million, adding that three-bedroom houses much further from the CBD were not as cheap as this property.
“It’s just a genuine bargain. Somebody’s going to get the buy of the year here,” he told OneRoof.
“Someone’s going to look back and think, ‘Gosh, I’m glad I turned up to that auction and put my hand up and bid’. Because regardless of what the market does over the next five to 10 years it’s still a great buy.”
Start your property search
Discover more:
- ‘Like winning Lotto’ - Owner pockets an extra $250,000 after bidding frenzy
- Sydneysiders' 140-year-old mansion in Timaru for sale with $2m RV
- $2.9m Tudor mansion for sale in centre of Wellington
Ryken said the terrace house, at 5 Wimbledon Way, had been on the market for several months before being taken down and relaunched. The initial price was around the $1.1m mark but that had gone “down, down, down”.
There had been serious offers, but they had all fallen through and the vendors, who lived in the house before relocating overseas, “have just had enough and gone ‘Hey, what do I have to do to get it sold?’.”
Ryken’s advice was to hold an auction with a declared reserve as such auctions were working well in the current market.
“If we had everyone draw a line in the sand and probably put a declared reserve under the market, we’d sell everything quickly,” he told OneRoof.
“In Remuera, anything that’s three bedrooms for under $1m is a bit of a bargain, so we thought why not put it under $950,000 and see what happens from there.”
The short marketing campaign would put a bit of pressure on buyers but Ryken said the sellers wanted an unconditional buyer and that serious buyers should be able to get their due diligence sorted quickly.
The three-bedroom property enjoys a lot of light. Photo / Supplied
Ryken said the property was in a cul de sac that backed onto Regent’s Park, which was a council reserve and an off-leash dog park. “You open the [back] gate and you’re in the park. It’s heaven for dog owners and in terms of getting the kids all tired after kindy or school, you take them out there and they can run around and burn some energy,” he said.
People who attended the open homes were surprised the street existed. “You have to make a few turns to get down there. That’s why the owners in the street love it so much because they know they’re not going to have people that don’t live in the street come down there.”
The house had good east-to-west orientation so owners could enjoy the morning sun in the front courtyard and the afternoon sun in the backyard.
“You can basically make use of the sun in the mornings right through to the afternoon, and it’s very green around there, lots of hedging and mature trees and plantings and whatnot.”
Along with three double bedrooms and a white tiled bathroom there was a carport for two cars. “It’s just such a good package for that price.”
The house would suit many different buyers, Ryken said.
“We’ve had downsizers buy these homes, we’ve had first-home buyers, we’ve had young families, we’ve had investors, lots of local buyers who put university-aged kids in there with flatmates.
“The buyer pool is so large for this kind of home given it’s low maintenance – it’s so easy to maintain.”
- 5 Wimbledon Way, in Remuera, Auckland, goes to auction on July 31
