Bayleys national auction manager Conor Patton is super busy.
Fears that the housing market would grind to another halt after Auckland went into another lockdown have been proven wrong by the amount of fiercely competitive buyers turning up to online auctions.
Patton says Auckland auctions have gone “gang busters” at alert level three, with Bayleys bringing the virtual hammer down on $25 million worth of property sales in just a handful of days.
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“We had about 600 people view our online auctions last week. Even if we go to alert level four, we have all the technology to transact,” he says.
Among the standout sales was 15 Sackville Street, in Grey Lynn. The four-bedroom freshly renovated villa, marketed by Edward Pack, had 11 registered bidders and sold for $2.725 million - $825,000 above the 2017 CV. OneRoof records show the house last changed hands in August 2019 for $1.75 million, handing the vendors a profit, on paper at least, of more than $1 million.
There were nine registered bidders for the auction of 22 William Avenue, in Greenlane, Auckland. Photo / Supplied
A former state house at 22 William Avenue, in Greenlane, enjoyed similar success: it sold for $2.4 million - $550,000 above its CV. The four-bedroom 1930s home, which was marketed by Glenn Baker, had nine registered bidders and had 50 groups through the open homes, many of whom were attracted by the 806sqm corner site and the Mixed Housing Urban zoning.
But it’s not just Auckland that’s feeling the heat. Patton says one of the strongest auction markets right now is Gisborne. Buyers in the region haven’t hesitated since the new outbreak of Covid-19, with Patton selling nine out of ten properties under the hammer there last week.
122 Crawford Road, in Kaiti, Gisborne, sold under the hammer for $290,000. Photo / Supplied
Prices ranged from $290,000 for a four-bedroom 1920s villa at 122 Crawford Road, in Kaiti - more than double the 2017 rating valuation - to $752,000 for a four-bedroom 1990s home with outdoor pool at 12 Ruru Avenue, in Lytton West - $331,000 above its rating valuation.
“They’re a strong auction market. We had 60 registered bidders on those properties, which shows there is huge demand,” Patton says.
Bayleys agent Kerry Low says the Gisborne market is “pumping”, and is attracting interest from buyers all around the country.
“We had people come from Tauranga to view a house last week and I have people flying from Wellington this week. And potential buyer from Auckland had to cancel as there’s no way he can actually come through,” she says.
