A four-bedroom luxury home in Christchurch's most desirable suburb post-Covid has sold under the hammer for $4.26 million - more than $1.4 million above its 2019 rating valuation.
In a further sign of the heat at the top of Christchurch's housing market, three buyers competed to secure 39 Weka Street, in Fendalton, placing over 80 bids at the Harcourts auction.
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The 463sqm top of the line house, which sits on a 911sqm section, comes with spacious terrace and in-ground swimming pool.
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According to OneRoof records, the property last changed hands in March 2019 for $3.15 million, meaning the property turned a $1.11 million profit, on paper at least, in just 24 months.
The listing agent for the property, Harcourts' Cameron Bailey, said that while sale price was a surprise for the vendors, it still represented good value.
"If [the house] was in Auckland, it would cost two times as much. If it were in Ponsonby, it would be around $10 million."
Fendalton has enjoyed a run of big sales in recent months and has been Christchurch's hottest suburb since the city's housing market came out of lockdown in May last year, with its median value lifting 31.7% to $1.195 million.
Bailey said he had sold a house for $6.7 million two weeks ago in the neighbourhood, adding that there was a huge appetite for good houses in the area but enough stock available to keep up with the demand.
The five-bedroom Fendalton home last sold in 2019 for $3.15 million. Photo/ Supplied
"In Auckland they are selling for that price all the time but $6 million is a lot of money for Christchurch. But there are houses being built here that could reach a sale price of $10 million in a few years.”
Bailey said the city was undervalued for years and was now going through a “double bounce”.
“We’re going through the Covid bounce and the earthquake bounce right now.”
Economist Ed McKnight said Christchurch was at the start of a new property cycle and he expected the prices to continue growing.
Those who pay top prices could afford to keep up with the market and were not the same buyers who needed to borrow 80% from the bank.
“They have the ability to bid [big sums] and don’t get tapped out,” McKnight said.
He said that in boom periods, the more expensive areas tend enjoy the biggest growth, hence Fendalton’s popularity and surge.
“There are only so many really nice suburbs but there are not a lot of aspirational places in the centre of Christchurch at that price point as the stock is very limited,” he said.
The biggest sale in Fendalton dates back to 2018 when an award-winning five-bedroom residence sitting on a 4961sqm section sold for $6.825 million.
