A riverside property in Huntly has sold for a bargain $375,000 at a mortgagee auction this week.
But the new owner of the three-bedroom home in Great South Road could be in for a surprise when they pick up their keys. None of the bidders were able to go inside the property prior to Thursday's auction.
Bayleys auctioneer Stephen Shale said the six registered bidders competing for the property, which sits on a 784sqm section, were a mix of builders, property traders and homeowners.
Bidding started at $165,000 and crept up as three people fought over the property, which was sold in an "as is, where is" condition and could only be viewed from the street.
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There were just two phone bidders remaining once the bidding hit $300,000. The property was announced on the market at $360,000 and sold six bids later.
“There were two on the phone going nuts and one in the room and obviously the other three didn’t play," Shale said.
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“It just shows there is life in the market if the value proposition is good.”
The latest sale price was just $15,000 shy of its RV of $390,000, but significantly less than when it last changed hands two years ago for $550,000. The town's overall average property value is $544,000, according to the latest OneRoof-Valocity house price figures.
The new owner is understood to be a homeowner who, according to Bayleys salesperson Michael Parker's listing, would likely have a “fondness for adding value through an interior and exterior refresh”.
The overgrown property had views of the Waikato River. Photo / Supplied
However, Shale said people would be bidding for land value first just because of the circumstances of the sale including not having access to the property.
“There’s no chattels, possession and risk and all of those things generally brings back market value 10 to 20%.”
The same riverside section in Hamilton would be three times as much, he said.
“If this was on the river in Hamilton – 784sqms - you’ve got a million-dollar site if it was central Hamilton, so it doesn’t compare.
“The commute and affordability is there.”
The listing described Huntly as undergoing “a renaissance” now the Waikato Expressway has been completed effectively bypassing the town, adding it offers “welcomed value all around”.
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