- A mysterious block of land in Awahuri sold for $10,000 more than the declared reserve of $55,000.
- The new owner is from outside the region and plans to use the property for storage.
- Bayleys agent Jack Monckton noted interest from across the country, but challenges deterred potential home-builders.
A mysterious block of land has sold under the hammer for $65,000 – $10,000 more than the ultra-low advertised reserve price.
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The auction for the 1012sqm site tucked in beside another lifestyle block on State Highway 3, in Awahuri, Manawatū, opened at $60,000 and after one more bid sold for $65,000.
The property, which had an RV of $620,000, was not connected to any services, lacked a boundary fence and was owned by someone whose identity was a complete mystery to the community. There were big questions marks around whether it could even be built on.
The section had been farmed by the owners of the neighbouring property, which is also for sale. Photo / Supplied
Bayleys listing agent Jack Monckton said the new owner was from outside the region and had purchased the property for storage in the quick one-minute auction.
Monckton said two of the three registered bidders actually bid on the section and all appeared to have been drawn by its attractive price point.
There had been a lot of interest in the property from all over the country including Waiheke Island and Wellington with people eyeing it up for a range of reason, he said. However, a lot of people who had wanted to build a house on the site dropped after doing further investigation.
“There definitely would have been challenges if you had wanted to build a traditional dwelling. So, there wasn’t anyone who was prepared to take those on.”
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Monckton said the vendors were “stoked” with the result.
However, it was not the only cheap property going as he was also selling another similar section nearby in Awahuri in an off-market deal.
“I imagine there are a few more like that in that Awahuri area – just uncovered, who knows?”
The neighbouring property, which had a different owner who had been farming the mystery section that many locals had wrongly assumed was part of the neighbouring property, is also for sale.
The four-bedroom, two-bathroom home at 1634 State Highway 3, in Awahuri, is being marketed as a self-sufficient lifestyle property on a 7346sqm section and has an asking price of $800,000-plus.
The area, which is about 15 minutes from Palmerston North and 10 minutes from Feilding, was a mix of farms and lifestyle blocks. It has a population of just over 2000 people and 861 dwellings, according to Statistics New Zealand data.
- Click here to find more properties for sale in Manawatū
