The cupboard is almost bare in one of New Zealand most exclusive beach suburbs, with wealthy Auckland buyers snapping up the last few remaining baches in Omaha.
As of this morning, there were just four Omaha properties listed for sale on OneRoof.co.nz.
Precision sales agent Di Balich has all four of them. She told OneRoof just before Christmas: "I've never seen listing numbers this low. Stock is selling fast.
"I'll list on a Friday, do open homes on Saturday and Sunday, have five offers by the Sunday night and by Monday, it's gone."
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She told OneRoof two of her listings recently sold for $2.25 million and $2.15 million all within 24 hours of going to market.
Even plaster houses were now selling fast.
"People are careful, but if its built to code then there's no discount [in price] now."
24 Shamrock Crest sold under the hammer for $1.808 million. Photo / Supplied
Fellow Omaha agent Paul Elsden, from Bayleys, told OneRoof: “In my 12 years as an Omaha specialist this is the first time we’re completely sold out.
“In the whole of Omaha there are just five properties for sale. I've never seen that. The highest number of listings we’ve had here was 105. We were sitting at around 70 between 2010 and 2012.”
Elsden's last sale of 2020 was a four-bedroom 1980s home at 24 Shamrock Crest, which sold under the hammer for $1.808 million - $680,000 above its 2017 CV.
On the market for the first time in 36 years, the house at northern end of the beach suburb attracted four bidders, with three underbidders still looking.
“We’ve got way more people looking to buy than we’ve got stock. People are looking around the $1.5 million to $2 million price point. We just can’t get anything," Elsden said.
Elsden and colleague Joneen Smith sold a 17-year-old unit in a block of 25 at 189 Mangatawhiri Road, in Omaha, at auction last month for $1.55 million. “That’s entry level,” he said.
Elsden noted that since Auckland came out of the first lockdown, a swag of new buyer types had joined the usual upsizers and downsizers in the suburb.
“Fifty percent of buyers are new people whom we’ve never seen before, new buyers to the area,” he said.
This year saw two records fall in Omaha: Elsden and Smith set a new beachfront record at the northern end of Omaha with a $6.1 million sale in November. While he couldn't disclose the address, he did say there were multiple offers on the property.
And in October, Balich sold the luxury home of Paul Henry and Diane Foreman at 9 Karahu Lane for well over $7 million.
Balich said very few of her buyers looking in the $2.5 million-plus range were subject to finance approval. "Nearly all are cash."
One of her remaining listings, a five-bedroom luxury home at 114 Mangatawhiri Road, will be looking for that kind buyer, with buyer enquiry sought over $3.5 million.
