Two neighbouring homes in Auckland's Mount Wellington sold at auction this week for nearly $4 million as sellers cashed in on the surge in demand for land among developers.
The listing agent for the two four-bedroom 1960s houses on Panama Road, Barfoot & Thompson's Anil Sharma, said buyer interest had been high.
The properties, which are zoned Mixed Housing Urban, were listed in lockdown in September, but despite receiving plenty of pre-auction offers, the vendors decided against bringing the auction forward.
“There were lots of agents bringing their clients. They were all developers because it was such a big site - 1692sqm, close to motorways, amenities and transport,” Sharma said.
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Five bidders drove up the price of the homes, with the hammer coming down at $3.883m – $2.265m above the properties’ combined CV.
Demand is high for property on Panama Road, Mount Wellington, because of its proximity to transport and amenities. Photo / Supplied
Sharma told OneRoof that some of the bidders hadn’t seen the property in person, although they knew the area. Demand for development land high in the area – a townhouse development across the road at 25 Panama Road is all but sold out - but Sharma was still surprised at the record price per square metre of $2300.
The vendors, who had owned the properties for decades, had approached him with the plan to sell together, he said. One plans to move out of Auckland with the proceeds of the sale.
“I’ve had a few phone calls from other neighbours. We’re mostly selling land now, not family homes. But when we get a home, there are always 30 or 40 buyers, there’s a real shortage for them.”
Further south, in Papatoetoe, a tidy three-bedroom 1950s house with outbuildings on 842sqm along Great South Road sold for $2.502m under the hammer as 23 registered bidders fought it out.
“The whole thing was over in 11 minutes. Bidding started at $1.7m, it was on the market at $2.28m and ended up selling for $2.502m,” said the listing agent Ray White's Campbell Simon.
A property on Great South Road, Papatoetoe, set the suburb record for land values when it sold for $2.502m. Photo / Supplied
“This puts the dollar per square metre rate at $2971, which is a suburb record by far.”
In west Auckland, Harcourts agents Aman Gulia and Joe Steel closed the deal on four neighbouring properties on Savoy Road, Glen Eden for a total of $6.3755m, well above the $6m estimated value.
The four neighbours combined forces when two houses in the neighbourhood sold to a developer for almost $4m.
Gulia said that the price per square metre paid by the developer broke the earlier Glen Eden record.
Four homes on Savoy Road in Glen Eden sold for a combined $6.3755m. Photo / Supplied
The pair sold another 1352sqm property on Gavin Street, Ellerslie before it could even be photographed.
Gulia said the 1940s house, which had a ratings valuation of $1.68m, had multiple offers in the first week, including one unconditional sight unseen, and sold for $3.4m.
“The buyers really want to get started, and even asked for settlement within five days, but family owners needed a month. The place was too big for them so they can buy something nicer now.”
