A prime development site, on the Golden Mile of Auckland's North Shore, sold at auction in the weekend for close to $6 million.
The five-bedroom bungalow sits on a very valuable 883sqm site on Kitchener Road, midway between Takapuna and Milford beaches, and next door to a park on the shores of Lake Pupuke.
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Ten bidders pushed the price of the site, zoned for high density, to $5.97m, with the property going on the market at $4.8m.
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Barfoot & Thompson agent Lin Qiu, who marketed the property, said it presented a number of opportunities for savvy purchasers as it was an exceptional development site, with wide street frontage, fabulous views and in zone for three of North Shore’s most desirable schools.
Steve Walsh, Barfoot & Thompson’s branch manager for Northcote, said the house and land attracted a huge amount of interest.
“We would have had 26 parties through, 10 of them registered to bid and six of them kept bidding. These are experienced developers; all the big guns were there.”
The property, on the "Golden Mile" between Takapuna and Milford has some of Auckland's most expensive properties. Photo / Supplied
Walsh added that a few buyers were looking with their architect for a single-home renovation, but it was clear they would be outbid by developers.
Qiu and her vendor were clear that they would not accept pre-auction offers in order to allow the campaign to reach as many buyers as possible. The property, which had a council valuation of $2.8m, last changed hands in 2013 for $1.98m, yielding the vendor a profit of just under $4m, on paper at least.
The site has views of Lake Pupuke, with a park in front. Photo / Supplied
Walsh is unsure what the buyer, an experienced developer, plans to do with the plot, but says the “amazingly good” site will have a good market for whatever new builds go on it.
He wouldn’t commit on likely price points that homes would sell for on the prestigious strip, but said there will always be a demand in the seaside suburb for good quality homes.
“There’s not much stock available at the moment, at all price points.”
In April, a beachfront house in Audrey Road, also on Auckland's Takapuna Beach, set the record for a beachfront sale at $13.75m. Photo / Supplied
The sale comes just three months after a waterfront home on Takapuna beach, a five-minute walk away, sold for $13.75m, then the year’s top price for a residential property.
However, the sale of that Audrey Road house, which sits on 1093sqm of prime waterfront land, was eclipsed earlier this month by the “well in excess of $20m” paid for a renovated five-bedroom mansion above the beach at Herne Bay.
The record for Takapuna, set in 2017, is $28.88m for a waterfront mansion on O'Neills Avenue.
