While a home selling for just over $1 million in Auckland is not unusual, an hour and a half away - in a rural Waikato township - that price is a record breaker.
In the tiny town of Ngatea, where the median value is $390,000, a five-bedroom house at 23 Harris Place attracted a lot of heat at auction last month, when it sold for $1.15 million - $75,000 above the 2018 CV.
Bayleys Waikato agents Adrienne Jordan and Karl Davis, who marketed the property, say the home is on the best street in Ngatea and the new owners were determined to secure it.
Davis says: "It is the highest sale in the township ever".
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The buyers were extremely excited about their purchase and the vendors were ecstatic, Jordan added.
The five-bedroom house is said to be on the best street in Ngatea. Photo/ Supplied
Davis says the property was pitched at buyers from outside the town - which has a population of just under 1500. “Someone has come from over an hour away to own it.”
He says post-Covid he’s had “heck of a lot more” interest in rural Waikato from New Zealanders making lifestyle changes post-lockdown.
“People are thinking about where they want to spend their time in New Zealand, and they don’t want to be trapped in apartment in Auckland, they want some land," he says.
“We found the more people we tell, the more likely we are to get a better price. It’s better to tell too many about the property, than not enough."
OneRoof data shows Ngatea's median value has stayed steady post Covid-19, settling at just under $500,000. The deal for 23 Harris Place eclipses the previous highest settled sale price for the town this year, of $820,000.
According to Real Estate Institute’s data for August, Waikato Region’s median price is just on $615,000, up 17 per cent from June. On average, July sales in the region were 17 per cent above CV,
The home has five bedrooms, three of which were marketed as master bedrooms. One master has his and hers vanities, a walk-in robe and bi-folding doors that provide access to the outdoor entertaining area
The house also has a separate studio room with a double bedroom, living area that can be used as guest accommodation or an office. Outside the property has an established fruit and vegetable garden and a huge deck.
