A stylish Auckland bungalow sold under the virtual hammer for $2.311 million - almost $400,000 above its 2017 CV.
Competition for the three-bedroom home at 99 Clarence Street, in Ponsonby, was intense last night, with continuous bidding for almost 30 minutes.
The alert level three lockdown in the city saw the auction move online.
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The house, which was marketed for sale by Ray White Ponsonby agents Scott and Chloe Wither, was owned by style guru Gina Riley, who owns and runs design and homewares store Ornament, and her husband Nick, a design consultant.
Scott Wither told OneRoof the vendors were "absolutely over the moon" with the auction result.
The property had five registered bidders and sparked a lot of interest among overseas buyers, with the last two bidders tuning in from Singapore.
"The [winning bidders] are Kiwi expats who purchased property now for when they sort themselves out and come back to New Zealand with their family in six to 12 months time," Scott said.
While expats have been active in the past three weeks, the level three announcement didn't stop locals from bidding online either. "It's absolutely pumping," Scott said.
According to OneRoof records, the house last sold in 2011 for $880,000, handing the Rileys a profit, on paper at least, of $1.431 million.
Gina told OneRoof earlier this month that the family had "only intended to own this house for a year” but they loved the area and wanted to renovate.
Ornament's Gina Riley at her store. Photo / Babiche Martens
“Tole Park is just across the road and because we can let her off the leash there, it’s been an absolute godsend, and one of the reasons we’ve stayed here so long,” Gina told OneRoof.
The couple had decided to open the main living area of the house up completely and during that process, they discovered two original back-to-back open fireplaces.
The kitchen features smart storage and hand-blown light fixtures. Photo / Supplied
They retained both, but removed the walls around them in order to achieve the best of both worlds in terms of differentiating the kitchen, dining and family room.
