A South Auckland do-up fetched an impressive price of $625,000 at auction this week.
A developer fought off competition from a dozen other bidders to take ownership of the three-bedroom brick-and-tile property on Lawerence Place, in Otara.
Ray White listing agent Jared Hards told OneRoof that the sale had been ordered by the High Court. The house had been the subject of a family dispute and it had taken over 15 years and a long time going through the courts to get it to the point where it could be listed.
The 1960s home had been occupied until about three months ago. The residents moved out so the family could clean it and prepare it for sale.
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Hards said it had been a long and emotional process for the vendors, but they were extremely happy with the outcome especially as it had surpassed their expectations.
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The agent even admitted that he had only expected it to sell in the $500,000s because it was being sold ‘as is, where is’ and needed a cash buyer. Better properties in the same area had recently sold for between $600,000 and $700,000.
“It was a pretty decent sale given obviously the condition of the house, but it had pylons and powerlines running over the corner of the section.”
The powerlines made developing the site more difficult, he said, because new homes could not be built directly under them.
The house, which was on a 665sqm section, was marketed at investors “looking to add significant value”.
The home was in original condition and hadn't had anything done to it for about 20 years. Photo / Supplied
The property was sold in 'as is, where is' condition and was marketed as a 'fixer-upper'. Photo / Supplied
“It was a pretty big project to be honest. It was pretty original. Nothing had been done for 20-odd years.”
However, that didn’t stop 15 registered bidders ranging from renovators, developers and even first-home buyers who were getting a helping hand from their parents to get on the property ladder getting involved in the auction.
The auction at Ray White Manukau's auction room on Tuesday opened at $200,000 with eight people actively bidding. There were only two buyers left fighting over it hit by the time it reached $550,000.
“The guy who won it (for $625,000) basically just kept putting on bigger increments than everyone else. The last one they were doing $1000 (bids) and he was doing $10,000 on top of them.”
The new owner was a “buy and hold developer” who would either take the easiest option of renovating the front house and building something on the back of the property or bow it and put several houses in its place.
“He doesn't buy to sell, he just buys and holds onto them and rents them out.”
The powerlines crossed over a corner of the section and added an extra complication for anyone wanting to develop the site. Photo / Supplied
Hards said High Court sales for standalone homes on freehold sites were rare and, like mortgagee sales, attracted a lot of interest when they did come up.
He believed the auction was a standout because people knew the vendor’s motivation and knew it had to sell.
“A lot of these sales where they know the vendors are going to sell, people get involved.”
The market was also starting to pick up a bit more, he added.
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