Bayleys auctioneer Conor Patton had a bird’s eye view of damage in Gisborne caused by Cyclone Gabrielle when he flew in to hold auctions last week.
He saw slip after slip: “It certainly showed you the scale of it - the scale of it was vast certainly.”
Patton says when he was in the area there were no visible signs damage in the township itself but he saw some areas where homes had been yellow or red stickered.
“Outside of the town you could see the debris and slash, and the river banks were swollen.”
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The Gisborne auction had been delayed more than a week because of the extreme weather event, but none of the homes on the block were damaged
There was good attendance on the day itself, with five out of nine properties selling and a further two going under negotiation. One sale was to someone who had been impacted by the cyclone.
“They were buying because their own property had been badly affected [by the cylone] so they were making a move out of necessity if you like,” Patton said.
He added: “People were still active and people were pragmatic and relatively strong, really. It wasn't like people weren't aware of what's going on but there was still good activity.
“If you were to remove all the other circumstances, it was on its own a successful day.”
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One property which was the subject of strong bidding was a three-bedroom brick home on Potae Avenue, in Lytton West, a popular suburb in the town. Bidding started at $750,000 before finishing roughly 20 minutes later at $1.002 million - $271,000 above its 2020 RV.
A four-bedroom home in neighbouring Margaret Place, in the same suburb, sold for $1.19m, after bidding kicked off at $940,000 - $32,000 above RV.
And a bach on Newcastle Street, in Mahia, Wairoa, which had been in the same family for four generations – nearly 70 years – ended up selling for $1.075m - $235,000 above its 2021 RV.
Bidders in the auction room were predominantly locals who were looking at moving into their next home, and the results show there are still buyers out there.
A four-bedroom home on Margaret Place, in Lytton West, Gisborne, sold for $1.075m - $235,000 above its 2021 RV. Photo / Supplied
A bach on Newcastle Street, in Mahia, Wairoa, sold under the hammer for just over $1m. Photo / Supplied
Patton says Gisborne is on a fortnightly auction schedule and says auctions still a good way to sell in the area despite the cyclone and flooding.
“As long as all documentation is provided up front and people are well aware of what they're purchasing then (because of) the transparent nature It's still the best way to go about it.”
If properties are stickered that does not mean they cannot be sold, he says.
“REINZ sent out useful clauses and guidelines for people on that and what an agent’s obligations are to make sure everything is disclosed, so provided all those things are in place, which they should be anyway, then it still remains the exact same transparent method for buyers and sellers to transact in an easy way.”
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