A run-down 110-year-old villa in Auckland has sold in lockdown for almost $6m.
The five-bedroom house, which sits on a 877sqm section on Balfour Street, in Parnell, was snapped up by developer last week for more than double its CV after just two weeks on the market.
It is one of a small number of properties in Parnell that is zoned for apartments, and, according to one of the listing agents, the sale price of $5.8m sets a record for development land in the suburb.
Ray White Parnell agent agent Ross Tierney, who marketed the property with Andrew Fava and Kerry Cattrall, told OneRoof: “The buyer hadn’t set foot in the property. We believe, at $6600 per sqm, this is the highest price for development land in the suburb - and beats the $6200 to $6400 per sqm being paid for larger sites in neighbouring Orakei and St Heliers."
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He added: “There are plenty of developers with that sort of money looking for good sites with that zoning, even ones that need engineering.”
The property had views across to the city skyline. Photo / Supplied
The two-storey villa, which last changed hands nine years ago for $2m, is currently being rented out for $1500, but Tierney said the development potential of the land was key factor in the sale.
The property sits within the valuable double grammar school zone and has views of the city skyline and inner harbour.
While the block of land could be turned into an apartment block, Tierney said some of the potential buyers had been looking looking at putting six large townhouses on the site to suit the mix of local buyers.
The 110-year old villa is in one of the few streets zoned for density in Parnell. Photo / Supplied
“This lockdown is changing the way we live. Instead of overseas travel, people are now looking at owning in a New Zealand destination, and downsizing to a smaller lock and leave house or apartment.”
He said that agents had used their time in level 4 to appraise home values for owners ahead of the updated ratings valuations coming out from Auckland Council at the end of the year.
“The council obviously only does desktop, but we can look at upgraded interiors and help people see when their CVs come through how buyers might look at.
“For a property like Balfour, we can see what value developers would see in just the land component and help people understand that.”
