The owners of a classic brick and tile South Auckland home who had turned down a $725,000 offer on their house are heading back to the auction room – and this time they could end up selling for as little as $1.

Ray White agent Tom McCartney told OneRoof the owners of 5 Corsair Crescent, in Māngere East, had had a change in circumstances and were now committed to selling.

The three-bedroom, one-bathroom property first went to auction at the end of January and paused once bidding hit $725,000. The bid didn’t reach the reserve and the property was passed in.

“They didn’t quite get what they wanted at the time, but circumstances have changed a little bit, and they just need a result so they thought they would give the $1 reserve a go.”

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They initially shelled out $860,00 for the three-bedroom property in February 2021 with plans to develop the 706sqm section.

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However, they had since abandoned their plans to build five two-bedroom houses on the site and now just wanted it sold, McCartney said.

There still were not a lot of $1 reserve auctions happening, he added, and the owners had decided to send a strong signal to prospective buyers that they were now serious about selling on auction day.

“Buyers can take confidence that property is going to be sold on the day wherever it gets to and then it’s just going to be up to the market to determine where that is. But they are not going to be wasting their time only to find out that the owner’s expectations are up in the clouds.”

The property, which has a CV of $1.075 million and was currently tenanted, was being marketed at first-home buyers, investors or renovators either looking to hold or flip.

It was one of about 40 properties being auctioned at Ray White Manukau’s large auction frenzy The Day on May 1, but the only one with a $1 reserve.

A three-bedroom brick and tile house at 5 Corsair Crescent, in south Auckland, goes to auction on May 1. Photo / Supplied

The property is currently tenanted and could appeal to first-home buyers, investors or land-bankers. Photo / Supplied

“There will hopefully be people there that may miss out on another property and hopefully think a $1 reserve looks pretty good.”

Earlier this month a newly renovated two-bedroom, one-bathroom house on Middlemore Road, in Otahuhu, sold under the hammer in a $1 reserve auction for $701,000.

There were nine registered bidders for the property, which had an RV of $890,000, who were a mix of first and second-home buyers, and investors.

Harcourts listing agent Alex Dunn told OneRoof, at the time of the sale, that it was a serious gamble that had paid off for the seller and he could now move on.

Despite a recent spike in $1 reserve auctions, Dunn said they still helped a property stand out in a cluttered market and were a true indication of what the market was willing to pay.

“It takes the question out of the buyers’ mind about where the vendor’s expectation is.”

- 5 Corsair Crescent, in Māngere East, Auckland, goes to auction on May 1