A two-bedroom home described as an “ideal playground for gardeners and children” has sold for $875,000 – the cheapest property to sell on Waiheke Island so far this year.
The small two-bedroom cottage on Alison Road in Surfdale was snapped up at a Bayleys auction in central Auckland this week as buyers around the country appear to still have a hunkering for beach locations and water views.
Situated on a busy road but walking distance to the beach, the property was advertised as a great home for retirees, first-home buyers or those wanting a beach home. It had full length decks at the back and front of the house ideal for summer BBQs.
Bayleys Waiheke Island agent Bill Ryan said the property could seem cheap just because it was under the $1 million mark, but it was also a small 60sqm basic house built in the 1980s.
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“It’s interesting you say it’s cheap. It’s still nearly $900,000.”
The owner had more than doubled their money after only paying $350,000 for the house 12 years ago, he said.
There was only one bidder at the auction who is understood to have bought it as a rental investment. The sale price was within market expectations.
Ryan said while there were some extremely high-end properties on Waiheke, there was the other side of the island where people on standard incomes lived too. “So much for all these big prices, there’s also a big bank of houses out here that are not in that range.”
This three-bedroom home on Levesque Street, in Birkdale, Auckland, was listed as a "must sell!". Photo / Supplied
In the past few months there have been more entry-level type houses listed on Waiheke.
The only other property to sell on the island in the last 12 months for less than the Surfdale house was a house on Fairview Crescent in Omiha which sold for $839,000 in October 2021, according to OneRoof sales data.
The most expensive property to sell on Waiheke Island so far this year was a property on Oceanview Road in Oneroa which fetched $5.88m in January. Last year a house on Seaview Road in Ostend hit $8.225m.
The average property value for Surfdale in the past three months was $1.675m, the latest OneRoof-Valocity house price report shows. It grew just 0.1% compared to the previous three months.
A OneRoof search for affordable homes on the island produced, among others, a two-bedroom property at 16 Frank Street, in Oneroa, which is to be sold at auction, and a two-bedroom property at 59 O'Brien Road, in Omiha, which has a listing price of $900,000.
Other properties in Auckland that sold under the hammer this week around the $1m mark include a three-bedroom property on Woodbank Drive in Glen Eden that sold for $880,000, a three-bedroom townhouse on Maraha Avenue in Birkenhead that sold for $1.14m and another three-bedroom home in Levesque Street on a cross lease section for $880,000. All three properties were sold by Barfoot & Thompson.
A three-bedroom home on Harbour Drive, in Otumoetai, Tauranga, fetched $3.17m at auction. Photo / Supplied
Meanwhile in Bayleys Botany’s auction room, a three-bedroom home on Minaret Drive in Bucklands Beach changed ownership for the first time in 35 years, selling for $1.26m.
Barfoot & Thompson managing director Peter Thompson said Auckland house prices had dropped since the market peaked in November, but not dramatically.
Sales numbers for May were up more than a quarter compared to April due to buyers realising that prices are “edging lower rather than falling rapidly”.
“May sales results show vendors are accepting that if they want to sell, they must reappraise their price expectations while buyers are realising that prices are not falling off the cliff edge.”
A three-bedroom home on St Andrews Hill Road, in Mt Pleasant, Christchurch, sold for $1.26m at auction. Photo / Supplied
Elsewhere around the country, properties near the water have been getting snapped up with a three-bedroom, two-bathroom house on St Andrew’s Hill in Mt Pleasant in Christchurch, boasting breathtaking views across the estuary, city and alps, sold at Harcourts Grenadier auction on Thursday for $1.26m.
A waterfront property on Otumoetai’s prestigious Harbour Drive in Tauranga sold for $3.17m and a two-bedroom apartment in Mount Maunganui’s Eleven Apartments Complex with views of the mountain sold for $1.125m. Both went under the hammer at Bayleys Tauranga’s auction on Wednesday.
Bayleys Tauranga agent Euan Sears, who sold the Harbour Drive townhouse, said it was impressive due to being recently refurbished, on the water’s edge and having “phenomenal” views. It was also only a short walk to the CBD.
“Harbour Drive is becoming very, very sought after. There’s been quite a few recent sales along there. It’s certainly becoming one of Tauranga’s most desirable streets.”
Other recent sales on Harbour Drive had sold around the low to mid-$3m mark.
