A buyer with a heart of gold has snapped up a rental home in West Coast for $180,000.
The listing agent for the two-bedroom house in Westport, Buller, said the vendor had only wanted to sell to someone who was willing to keep the property’s long-standing but vulnerable tenants.
Property Brokers agent Glenys Elley told OneRoof earlier this year that the owner was looking for a buyer with a “kind heart”, saying the tenants were incredibly loyal.
“There are never any problems and the tenancy inspections are always spot on,” she said.
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Elley said the conditions did prove a stumbling block for some buyers, who were mostly looking for a home to live in, but luckily it ticked all the boxes for an investor from North Canterbury.
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“They were looking for a low-risk rental property that didn’t require a lot of maintenance and had good tenants. The vendor is happy the tenants are staying on – that was his main concern – and, of course, the tenants are happy."
The 58sqm home, which sits on 308sqm of land, was built in 1930 and has a 2022 RV of $165,000. Elley said it was likely the house would have sold for more if had been sold vacant.
While the $180,000 sale price is low, homes in Buller can sell for a lot less. A flood-damaged bungalow on Romilly Street, in Westport, sold for $125,000 in March while a three-bedroom flood-damaged home on Brougham Street, also in Westport, sold for an ultra-low $71,200 in September.
Despite being New Zealand’s cheapest locations to buy a home, West Coast has bypassed the housing market downturn affecting the rest of the country. The latest OneRoof-Valocity house price figures show the region’s average property value jumped 8.6% to $416,000 in the last 12 months, and while Westport’s average property value is up only 2.6% year-on-year it has seen quarterly growth of 4.8%, reflecting busier sales activity over the summer.
This flood-damaged home on Romilly Street, in Westport, sold for $125,000 in March. Photo / Supplied
Seeking buyers with budgets of $130,000-plus is 9 Forbes Street, in Westport. Photo / Supplied
Those looking for a bargain in the town are unlikely to be disappointed, although buyers should be aware that some of the low-priced properties on offer require a lot of work.
One Agency’s Marchelle Dann has a three-bedroom home for sale at 9 Forbes Street, which is seeking buyer enquiries over $130,000. The property was “partially affected” by the 2021 floods and is being sold “as is”.
- Click here to find more properties for sale in West Coast
