An expat based in Hong Kong paid $1.75 million for a five-bedroom home in central Auckland without physically setting foot in it.
The new-build at 27B Louvain Avenue, in Mount Roskill, sold at a Barfoot and Thompson auction this after receiving the solid pre-auction offer from the overseas Kiwi.
Barfoot and Thompson agent Jane Wang, who marketed the property with Dragon Zhou, said the buyer decided the property was them after inspecting it online and doing a video walk-through with the agent.
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The buyers's Auckland-based sister also made an inspection before the auction.
Wang said that the pre-auction offer was good given the quality of the home, adding that it was one the few properties at the upper end of the market available.
Also proving popular at auction this week was a townhouse at 16/130 Great South Road, in Epsom. The double grammar zone home fetched $1.23 million - $110,000 above CV - after attracting 20 groups through its sole open home last weekend.
The agent marketing Louvain Avenue said the buyer's sister inspected before the auction. Photo / Supplied
Barfoot and Thompson agent Karen Gianotti said that the five bidders at the online auction included an expat from Hong Kong, keen to get into the desirable zone at what is considered an entry-level price.
Gianotti said expats buyers, particularly those based in Asia, were just “screaming out” for easy-to-maintain townhouses in the desirable school zone. The townhouse needed interior updates, but she said places at this price point were very hard to find.
“The buyers were first home buyers with one of their kids about to start Epsom Girls, they were a wonderful couple to work with.”
In Greenlane, Barfoot and Thompson agents David Wang and Xiaomin Fu sold a character two-storey 1920s bungalow on a cross-lease site for $1.35 million - $170,000 above CV. Wang said the house at 1/232 Campbell Road had attracted four or five bidders, eventually selling for reserve as the last two active bidders went up in bids of $5000 and then $10,000. OneRoof records show the property had last sold in March 2014 for $840,000.
16/130 Great South Road, in Epsom, sold under the hammer for $1.23 million. Photo / Supplied
Across the bridge on Auckland’s North Shore, Eddie Zhao and Kerry Bloomfield sold a smartly renovated mid-century home at 5 Terrylyn Drive, Hillcrest for $1.8375 million, $277,500 above CV. The auction had been brought forward, with bidding starting at just $1.5 million, with bids inching up, some in increments of just $1000. The winning bid was by $500.
The house, which OneRoof records show last changed hands in 2005 for $715,000, was in zone for Westlake high schools and Takapuna Normal Intermediate, and bordered the local golf course.
A pre-auction offer was good enough to secure 21B Arron Street, in Ellerslie. Photo / Supplied
An “extremely good” pre-auction offer brought forward the sale of an architect-designed house in Ellerslie. The house at 21B Arron Street sold at the offer price of $2.5 million, $625,000 above CV. The concrete plastered and tile house was built to the principals of Indian Vastu architecture, and was close to the area’s sought-after Rudolf Steiner school.
Barfoot & Thompson agent Steve Hood who marketed the property said it was one of the most desirable and unique homes in a sought-after pocket of Ellerslie, close to the village and public transport.
