A mortgagee sale of an Auckland apartment that had been pitched to potential buyers as a “Love Nest” sold under the hammer yesterday for $505,000.
Harcourts agent Mark Fitzgerald, who hyped up the Sex and the City-style living the one-bedroom apartment on Gladstone Road, in Parnell, offered, said he had five buyers interested with three of them bidding over the phone.
Fitzgerald's listing heavily referenced the hit TV show that starred Sarah Jessica Parker: “Got a Mr Big in your life? Well here’s a little pad to help bring out your inner Carrie.” One of the listing photos included a stock image of bare feet tangled under the bed sheets.
The successful buyer wasn't looking for a bolthole, though.
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“The guy that bought it, I think he bought it for his mum. I understand she’s been renting an apartment in the same building,” Fitzgerald told OneRoof.
He said the three bidders were all in the real estate industry, so understood the risk of buying into an unseen property (buyers could not walk through the flat before the auction, with photos from an earlier listing being their only way of checking it out).
Bidding opened at $4300,000 and quickly reached $501,000 before pausing for negotiation. Minutes later, it was declared on the market at $502,000 before a final bid of $3000 brought the hammer down at $505,000.
Read more:
- Mortgagee sale: Half-finished house on rich-lister street sells for $2.4m
- ‘Over the moon’: Homeowners nab an extra $200,000 in shock and awe auctions
- Cheap and cheerful: Do-up sells for surprising $670,000 at mortgagee auction
“It’s a good result. The price reflects the risk, so it’s a discounted price, you shave off some to compensate for the risk,” Fitzgerald said.
A year ago, a similar flat on the ground floor sold for $550,000 he said, but the market has come back since then. OneRoof records show the apartment has a CV of $690,000.
The agent said the apartment, on the third floor of a six-storey block on the corner of The Strand, is in a block that has been subject to extensive remedial work and is now deemed weathertight, with a March 2022 CCC issued.
“No ‘ifs’ or ‘buts’ here, the property must and will sell,” the advertisement concluded.
Two other higher profile mortgagee sales have yet to be sold.
The mortgagee tender for a house on 55 Cliff Road, St Heliers, has had its closing date pushed out another nine days to October 26.
The agents marketing the 529sqm mansion, Barfoot & Thompson agents Philip Davis and Rocky Liu, say in their advertising that the house set on 1208sqm has 180-degree harbour views.
They state their description of the five-bedroom property, which has a CV of $9.9 million, is based on past real estate advertisements and includes five bathrooms, a master suite with lounge, triple garage, swimming pool and expansive courtyard.
Agents marketing another mortgagee sale for a resort-like home on 7 Cheverton Place, in Kohimarama, have also not been able to show pictures of the property, other than aerial shots.
Bayleys agents Mike Adams and Andrew Wallace make it clear in their listing that they have not inspected the property but describe it as “an outstanding resort-style property” which comes with a pool and gated access.
The sprawling 1970s house sits on 2703sqm of extensively landscaped grounds, and is for sale by way of tender, closing October 25. According to OneRoof records, it has a CV of $6.5m and last changed hands in July 2021 for $5.6m.
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