A stand-alone home in Auckland's Stonefields sold under the hammer for just over $2 million at the weekend - the first time a property the “hole-in-the-ground” suburb has broken the $2m mark in six months.
The four-bedroom, three-bathroom home on Kauriki Terrace was hotly contested last weekend, with nine bidders battling it out for the only villa available to buy in the suburb.
The sale price of $2.06m, while shy $115,000 of its 2021 CV, was a good indication of the bounce back in the suburb's housing market.
The last property to break $2m in Stonefields was a four-bedroom standalone family home on Guard Crescent. It sold for $2.19m in December.
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Big sales in 2023 have until now been thin on the ground. A four-bedroom, four-bathroom home on Kauriki Terrace sold for $1.951m in March 2023. A large ex-display home on Stonemason Ave with an RV of $2.25m was sold by Barfoot & Thompson in March, but the sale price is yet to be disclosed.
In the first six months of 2022 there were more than ten $2m-plus sales in Stonefields, including a house on Papango Street, which sold for a record-breaking $2.9m in May 2022.
Ray White Orakei salesperson Edwina Nathan, who marketed the Kauriki Terrace home with Krissie Maguire, said there was a lot of interest in the stand-alone villa because not many houses were currently for sale in the suburb.
At the time of publication there were 15 houses in Stonefields listed for sale on OneRoof. All of them are terraced homes including 12 that are being sold off-the-plan.
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Nathan said the current owners had kept it immaculate and were only selling to relocate to the South Island. “It was so well received. It was beautifully presented and had a really good feel about it and a nice sunny outlook.”
The bidders included Stonefields locals wanting to upsize to a larger home and people who were starting over on their own, she said.
“You get a lot for your money. It’s a low-key sort of community. You can actually recognise people down at the playground because it’s the same people there every afternoon.”
This Kauriki Terrace home was immaculately kept and had a nice sunny outlook. Photo / Supplied
This four-bedroom house on Papango Street in Stonefields still holds the record for the suburb's most expensive sale, after selling for $2.9m in May last year. Photo / Supplied
Barfoot & Thompson salesperson Mary Du agreed that the number of properties for sale in Stonefields had dropped off. In March there were 23 properties for sale excluding new-builds, now there were only five active listings. “The shortage is a real challenge for anyone looking to buy in Stonefields. With such limited options available, it's becoming increasingly competitive for prospective buyers.”
Maguire said a lot of people turned their noses up at living in what is often described as “a hole in the ground” or the “old quarry”, but once they moved there they didn’t want to leave.
“Everyone bar none loves it. They get in there and they find it super easy living, it’s easy access to motorways – left, right, north, south all of that stuff, and there’s a good little community down there.”
Stonefields had a good side and bad side of the street, she said, with the coveted side, where the $2.06m home was on, getting the afternoon sun in the backyard. People in villas on the wrong side often moved across the road on the odd occasion one came up for sale just to get the afternoon sun.
And while stock levels have dropped in Stonefields, she said it was the same in the surrounding suburbs such as St Heliers and Glendowie as people wait for spring to put their properties on the market.
Other owners also appear to be holding on to their properties until the market turns and they return to getting $2m again, she said.
“They always want to win on selling and win on buying, but if you win on selling then you are going to lose on buying because you will pay top dollar to buy the next thing.”
A terraced house on Garin Way was on the market for four months before selling for $1.575m at the start of June. Photo / Supplied
Ray White Remuera salesperson Ben Ryken said people were not prepared to sell their homes until they knew where they were moving to, which was creating a bottleneck in the market.
He said he would normally expect a few more houses than what’s currently available for sale, even in a winter market.
And the increase in buyer demand and shortage of properties – which is also happening in other suburbs – could push prices above what they were at the start of the year, he said.
He recently sold a four-bedroom, two-bathroom house on Garin Way for $1.575m which had been on the market for four months before selling. If it had been listed now, the days on the market would have been a lot shorter.
The new owner traded their smaller and older home on a larger section in neighbouring St Johns for a bigger house on a low-maintenance section in Stonefields.
Ryken said people don’t seem to mind having a terraced house, but they all want one on a corner section because of the extra light they give.
- Click here to find more properties for sale in Stonefields
