A modest three-bedroom house that sits on a large flat section in Auckland's North Shore sold under the hammer for almost $1 million above its 2017 council valuation.
Strong competition from keen bidders saw the deceased estate at 10 Pax Avenue, in Forrest Hill, fetch $2.54 million at auction on Thursday.
The property was sold after just seven days on the market, with an offer of $1.8 million, made after the first open home, bringing the auction forward.
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Harcourts agents Kris Cunningham and Barry Moodie marketed 10 Pax Avenue as a renovation or development opportunity, with the 1161sqm site zoned Mixed Housing Suburban, potentially allowing the construction of up to nine dwellings.
Cunningham says the auction had 32 registered bidders, 12 of whom made bids on the day.
The competition was strong right until the sale was made, with five parties making bids after the property passed the $2.5 million mark. “It was quite a crazy price and people were still prepared to pay it,” he says.
A week ago, a similar development property was sold in Milford for over $2.5million which attracted a lot of interest. Potential buyers who missed out on that one showed up hoping for better luck at the Forrest Hill site.
“People are paying for the development potential. It’s a very nice and flat 1161sqm site, so there were definitely land bankers and developers looking at it.”
The new owners are stoked that the property is in a popular school zone - Westlake Boys and Girls - and plan to live in the house for now, although they intend to develop site at some point in the future.
Built in 1960s, the house was on the market for the first time in 56 years. The vendors, who were selling the estate, were with happy the sale price - it was as if they had won lotto, Cunningham says.
“They were really happy with the offer of $1.8 million as the house was bought in 1966 for 4600 pounds.”
Harcourts auctioneer Shane Cortese says the property sold for “phenomenal amount of money”.
“With 32 registered bidders, we were confident that there was going to be a lot of interest,” he says.
