It was standing room only at Barfoot & Thompson’s Epsom rooms this week – that’s the first time in a while, says auctioneer Campbell Dunoon.
He sold six out of eight properties under the hammer in Wednesday night’s session, while another property that had strong bids passed in and only one property received no bids.
“I'd have to say over the last couple of weeks we're certainly having more interest in the auction rooms and Wednesday night was evidence of that,” he says.
“I had a full room - I had an absolutely full room - standing room only, 30 to 40 people.”
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The turn-out was great given it’s been such a stop, start year to date with cyclones and flooding.
“We've had some interest and then things have happened, environmental aspects and so on and so forth, and just as we thought we were getting some traction something would come along and stop us again.”
Over the last fortnight that has changed, though. Dunoon thinks buyers are thinking now is a good time to get back in the market, perhaps wondering if they might have more competition if they wait until later in the year.
“I think we're seeing some people say, ‘OK, we held out last year to see what was going on and then we've got over the flooding and the cyclone and we think there are some opportunities to get involved now’.
“I'm not saying they are bargains but I think people are coming in to give it a crack and I think that's good.”
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Vendors are also understanding the marketplace and meeting the buyers with Wednesday seeing a real assortment of properties for sale from Epsom, Mt Eden, Remuera, Mt Roskill, Mt Albert and Takapuna.
“We had a cross-section of value from well under $1 million to well over $5m and we had first-home buyers which I believe are showing some interest at the moment. We had people buying and selling for personal reasons; need a bigger house or a smaller house.
“The top sale was $5.61m and the bottom sale was $714,000, and we had good bidding, multiple bidders, not just the one but multiple bidders on most.”
The lowest sale price was for a deceased estate, a three-bedroom unit in double grammar zone, which, while of solid construction, needed a tidy up, he says.
Bidding started at $500,000, and the Mt Eden property was on the market at $695,000 then went up in $1000 bids before selling at $714,000.
The priciest property was a grand four-bedroom villa in Epsom, formerly known as Kerr House, which was marketed as an iconic local landmark on 1596sqm.
Three bidders began at $4m then two bidders “fought it out” before the home sold for $5.61m.
“It was in $50,000 lots all the way to $5.2m then went down to $25,000 lots.
“It's a stunning Edwardian villa, four double bedrooms, it's got a pool, a pool house and close to Cornwall Park so it's grammar zone as you'd expect.
“It's a lovely home, it's a home that you would like to own and I think that's why we had competition.”
The home sold $101,00 over its $5.5m CV, although Dunoon says not many people talk about CVs anymore.
A deceased estate on Balmoral Road, in Mt Eden, Auckland, was picked up at auction for $714,000. Photo / Supplied
“It used to be one of the qualifying questions or something raised during an auction, what is the CV, and people would make a judgment based on how high or low it was and I think to some degree that has been diminished now.
“Both parties don't consider it as seriously as perhaps they would have in the past. I'm just saying I think there's a realisation that market forces are more important than a council-appointed valuer.”
Bayleys agent David Rainbow also says CVs are not particularly useful as some properties sell over and some under CV.
“It's a moot point because you're comparing apples with bananas and pears - it's really a fruit bowl out there and some apples are bruised and some of them aren't and some bananas are bruised and some of them aren't and unless you did a very careful analysis of like with like it would be a very hard statement to say everything selling below CV or this percentage.”
He marketed a house in St Johns, a three-bedroom entry-level weatherboard home on a flat section, which sold at auction this week, fetching a good price but not reaching the $1.575m CV.
The property fetched $1.36m. It had seen predominant interest by younger couples wanting a home to live in but also investors and some developers, Rainbow says.
“That one’s probably at the more affordable end of our area and we had a number of registered interested parties.”
On the day two turned up to bid and the bidding was active, starting at $1m then the home selling under the hammer for a further $360,000.
“There were quite a lot of bids. There’s an old saying start it low and watch it grow and that’s key and we got engagement.
“It does represent a property that has potential to add value. There's no garaging so a buyer could perhaps extend the home because it's on its own freehold title and make the home a bit bigger.”
They could also add a garage or explore future development possibilities, he says.
Good property that is well presented will generally sell well at auction, Rainbow says, who prefers the sales method above others.
“It's the best method of sale in my opinion because it's transparent and it allows owners to get the maximum price through a competitive environment and the key really is unconditional commitment - at the end of the day we're in a marketplace which has slowed but we're still looking to sell properties to buyers who are in a committed position to purchase.”
Shane Cortese, national auction manager for Harcourts, says there were strong auctions on the North Shore.
A three-bedroom cottage on Kiteroa terrace, Rothesay Bay, Auckland, sold for $1.195m. Photo / Supplied
More properties are being brought to auction with vendors seeing the market does change quickly so the best way to get a barometer of the market is to put the property through the auction campaign and go for the cash first, he says.
On the North Shore five out of seven properties sold under the hammer: “The two that didn't sell had no bidders so every property that had bidding sold.”
A property on Kiteroa Terrace in Rothesay Bay had four bidders with a result the owners were emotional about, selling well over the $1.085m CV.
“It was on the market for $1.075m, bidding was really strong, it sold for $1.195m. The owners in tears because one, they’ve sold unconditionally and they’ve got more than what they had planned on just by virtue of running a tight, strong campaign and getting bidders in a situation to bid.”
Meanwhile, Hamilton’s market is picking up, says Jack Ramasamy of Lugtons who marketed an original 1950s property in sought-after Riverside Terrace, getting an auction result everyone was thrilled with.
The deceased estate brick and tile do-up where the owner had lived for 75 years saw keen bidding, eventually selling for $1.145m.
“It was phenomenal and amazing, everyone was surprised in this market.”
Riverside Terrace is an exclusive and sought-after street near the river and while it's hard to come by property in the street this particular one needed a lot of work.
“It's not in livable condition, you can't move in straight away, you need to paint, you need to change the carpet, you need to have a new kitchen, you need to have a new bathroom, everything needs to be replaced.
“Even if you're renting out you probably need to spend $30,000 or $40,000 to rent it out.”
While the house was run-down, the former owner loved the garden and the lawn was always in pristine condition, and still is, Ramasamy says.
Bidding was strong but he says this has been his best month for a long time with his team already selling around 17 houses so far.
There are a lot of first-home buyers coming to the market and open homes have been very busy.
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