Ask any agent, and they’ll tell you that many vendors – particularly the once-or twice-in-a-lifetime sellers – think they have a property that will defy the odds and have buyers begging to pay way above market prices.
During the boom years in Auckland, vendors will have benefited from rising prices, whether or not their property was special. The last year or two, not so much.
But after a quiet winter, real estate agents in the country’s biggest market have reporting auction results that have exceeded expectations.
Abbey Davis, of Harcourts Epsom, had one such goodie sell at auction last month. Buyers were talking around $1.3 million for a well-renovated 1950s house on Linwood Ave, Mount Albert. It went for $1.602 million as three bidders, then the final two, battled it out.
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“It’s a huge result - massive,” says Davis. There were 124 groups that attended the open homes – mostly cashed buyers who had been looking for a while.
“Anything that is well presented, they just go crazy for. There were so many phone calls; I’m telling everybody it’s a great market.”
TICKS ALL THE BOXES
Davis says the property ticked all the boxes: it was in a good school zone, had undergone a smart renovation, and offered a good flat section. But it also had a rare bonus: a self-contained downstairs area with its own bathroom, kitchen and living room - ideal for returning grown kids, caring for parents, or getting in a flat mate or bed and breakfast guest to help pay the mortgage.
Homes with extra accommodation (most are not legally set up as a second dwelling, so cannot be advertised as rental flat) are in big demand.
37 Kano Way, Hobsonville, sold at auction for $1.705 million, well above its $1.3 million to $1.5 million estimate.
They rarely come on the market, says Barfoot & Thompson Greenlane agent Helen Lam. She sold a classic Mount Roskill two-storey brick place last month for $1.3 million, well over its CV of $1.25 million. It too had a self-contained downstairs area, perfect for extended family members.
“The people at the open homes came for that reason. There is a shortage of properties like that, but lots of people are looking,” Lam says.
More and more people want to have separate spaces on site for extended family members – whether elderly parents or adult children.
“Families can stay together but they are good and separate,” she says.
CROWDED OPEN HOMES
Davis reckons that it is common to see 70 groups attend an open home during the length of a campaign, but earlier this year she had a “crazy” 248 groups come through a well-presented duplex in Onehunga. Another in Sandringham had more than 200 groups come through and 16 registered bidders.
“Buyers are calling, and vendors are asking ‘what’s out there?’ they’re waiting for supply,” she says. “We need another 20 homes right now, there are buyers ready to go, all cashed up, and nothing to buy.”
She says buyers have good budgets and are prepared to pay the right price, particularly in the $1 million to $2 million bracket. The sweet spot, she says, includes entry level bungalows on half size sections around Mt Eden, Sandringham and the central city fringe.
On the North Shore, Bayleys agent Prue de Bie recently had eight bidders driving up the price of an attractively renovated former 1950s bach on a large section in Browns Bay to $1.388 million.
While she doesn’t put much credence on CV (this one was around the $1million mark), she says a neighbouring un-renovated place went for $1.09 million. Over 86 groups came through.
“This one had everything, people liked that there is no maintenance on the grounds, it’s in a good school zone and it was a standout for the area,” de Bie says.
MOVING QUICKLY
She says that there are a lot of people with a limited amount to spend, and definitely more people out looking now, with finance sorted and ready to buy. But, while this house sold at a very good price, de Bie says that even when properties don’t sell under the hammer, auctioning is a very good process, with agents giving a lot of thought to a good marketing campaign, great photos and plenty of follow-up.
Jordan Selwyn, of Harcourts Milford, has been seeing serious bidders for nicely presented properties with no fish-hooks, with places being snapped up at much higher prices than expected.
This weekend he and partner Brooke Barrass sold the Cure Kids house at Scott Point in Hobsonville at auction for $1.705 million, well above its $1.3 to $1.5 million estimate.
But a more modest three bedroom brick and tile house on a cross lease section in Milford (on the Shakespeare Road end, not seaside) went for $1.45 million when 10 bidders pushed up the price well past its expected $1.2 million. Again it had the desirable factors: near a primary school, in zone for Westlake high schools, nicely presented with an easy care garden. Selwyn says that young families are competing with downsizers for these sorts of easy-care properties.
“Good buyers will do their homework, they know the stock levels. Nicely presented places you can move straight into, that’s appealing to both the downsizers and the younger families, particularly in a good school zone.”
“All buyers want to know is ‘is the vendor realistic?’ Then when they hear that, they all pile on, and the result ends up being a very high sale.”
