It has only been two weeks since the first residents moved into The International, in Auckland’s CBD, and the resale market has kicked into gear.
Apartments bought while the luxury tower was under construction are now back on the market.
“I’ve been involved selling in the building for five years, from design and concept stage,” says Ray White agent Ross Hawkins.
“But in five years for the odd person, the situation has changed, so there are three available for re-sale. The developer also has five or six to sell.”
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Hawkins says that The International’s restaurant, The Onslow, headed by celebrity chef Josh Emmett, has opened – where aged Wakanui beef goes for $42 and dishes include Fiordland crayfish and Cloudy Bay clams – and “everybody is loving it. The cinema got its first big weekend when everyone was watching the rugby.”
He says that while the luxury market has obviously moved in the last five years, prices have really changed in the last six months since the start of the Covid crisis.
Communal areas like the dining room, a theatre and high end restaurant in The International are part of the luxury package. Photo / supplied
When Hawkins started selling apartments in the luxury tower, apartment prices in Auckland had barely reached $10,000 per sqm. Now they are frequently double that, with two of the three apartments for resale carrying price tags of around $18,000 per sqm.
Hawkins and fellow Ray White agent Caleb Rufer are listing a 178sqm two-bedroom apartment on Level 10, with an asking price of $3.2 million, and a 143sqm two-bedroom apartment on Level 8, with an asking price of $2.495 million – in line with the pricing being offered by the developer.
Rufer and Ray White agent Richard Bull are also selling an apartment on the fifth floor, overlooking the pool and spa. This will be auctioned on November 12, which Hawkins says will be “testing the market for the vendor”.
Hawkins says: “It’s got to the stage where run-of-the-mill is $15,000-plus, and high end is $20,000- plus per sqm. And new developments at the very high end are starting over $30,000 per sqm.”
Hawkins points to the sale of the penthouse of The Horizon, in Mission Bay, which two years ago he sold for $30,000 per sqm.
City views seen from the winter-garden balconies. Photo / supplied
"I will say it will keep moving. Developers bringing in high-end projects use high specs, high-end architects. Construction prices are just going up. You get what you pay for.”
Hawkins says that buyers of these apartments are making a positive choice, preferring apartment living that frees up their time for weekends on the boat or at second homes at the beach or Queenstown.
He says opportunities to buy high-end apartments will be limited once the current tranche of luxury towers in Auckland CBD are completed. Limited supply can only drive up prices.
The next tranche of luxury apartments are in boutique developments on the city fringe, like The Edition. Photo / Supplied
New Zealand Sotheby’s International Realty sales manager for Auckland projects and developments Jason Gaddes says that price surges in the luxury market reflect increases in the wider housing market. He is marketing apartments at The International, the super penthouse at The Pacifica, the Edition in Parnell and the Horizon in Mission Bay.
“Good quality stock is offering excellent returns for people who had the foresight to buy off the plan,” he says, adding that buyers on the upper floors of The Pacifica will have seen price appreciation.
“Occupancy is in early January, so it’s a bit early to say but prices have held up well.”
Three-bedroom residences in the 19-unit Edition have an asking price of $4.495 million, but the Pacifica super-penthouse, which has a reported price tag of $40 million, is still on the market.
