- A Christchurch home sold for $1.675m, nearly $200,000 above expectations, after intense bidding.
- The three-storey house, owned by the original family for 43 years, attracted 80 viewings and 50 bids.
- A Casebrook property sold for $735,000, $210,000 more than its purchase price six months prior.
A craftsman who poured his time and energy into building a family home 43 years ago reaped the rewards when it sold for $1.6975 million – almost $200,000 more than what he’d been willing to accept.
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The builder and his wife listed the five-bedroom, three-bathroom house on the lower slopes of Clifton, in Christchurch, to build a smaller home around the corner.
They hadn’t expected the competition for the Clifton Terrace property to be so heated when it went to auction last week.
The Clifton Terrace home was meticulously built with timber detailing throughout. Photo / Supplied
The breathtaking views of Sumner Beach and Pegasus Bay were a big drawcard. Photo / Supplied
Bidding opened at $1.25m and steadily climbed to $1.5m, when the property was announced on the market. After a total of 50 bids, the hammer finally came down at $1.6975m – $265,000 more than the CV.
Bayleys agent Rosie Petronelli, who marketed the property with colleague Marilyn Still, told OneRoof the auction was lively.
The final two bidders had very different strategies, she said. One went up in increments of $1000 bids, while her competition tried to scare her off with bigger, bolder bids.
“One lady was bidding $1000 each time and then the other guy was coming back with bigger bids and then she jumped towards the end. I remember thinking, ‘Sheesh this is going nuts’.”
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Petronelli said there had been a lot of interest in the property, with 80 groups viewing it over three weeks.
“It was a pretty amazing house. The vendors had lived there 43 years. They built it and it was on the lower slopes of Clifton, which is pretty coveted real estate. It was in absolutely perfect condition and the views were pretty spectacular.”
The three-storey home also boasted two double garages and off-street parking, which was pretty rare for the area, Petronelli said, and had been designed by well-known Christchurch architect Stewart Ross.
She said the owners were happy with the result, but were also “emotional” because they had owned the house for so long.
A three-bedroom, one-bathroom do-up on Claridges Road, in Casebrook, also sold for $200,000 more than expected at auction last week. Photo / Supplied
“They’ve brought up their three kids in that house and their kids are well grown up with their own children now so they decided they wanted to have a smaller retirement-type house.”
Another Christchurch property owner made $210,000 in six months for their “rough diamond”, when it sold under the hammer at Harcourts Gold’s auctions last week.
The three-bedroom, one-bathroom do-up on Claridges Road, in Casebrook, sold for $735,000 – well above its reserve. A developer bought it in August 2024 for $525,000 as part of a larger project, but relisted it just six months later after a change in direction.
Harcourts Gold listing agent Andrea Rickerby said the sale price exceeded all their expectations.
“A couple of people went strong early and they just went hard and was quite quick,” she told OneRoof.
There were 15 registered bidders, but just four actively bidding on it.
Rickerby said there was a huge amount of interest in the property from first-home buyers, developers and investors who either wanted to add value, subdivide or land-bank.
A first-home buyer won it and planned to do it up slowly, she said.
“He’s a landscaper so he wants the space out the back to store some stuff and have some decent-sized sheds and long-term he knows it’s a good land-hold, which gave him confidence to go higher in the room.”
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