Investors are driving big prices at South Auckland auctions, with homes selling under the hammer for “unexpected” prices.
Ray White Manukau director Tom Rawson told OneRoof every Mangere East property that goes on the market sells “pretty hot”.
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“If you could have 20 houses in Mangere East, it would be better than Bitcoin,” he said.
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At last week’s auctions, a 1960s deceased estate in in Mangere East sold for $1.2 million - almost double its $670,000 CV.
"The owners were hoping for $800,000 so we got 50 percent above their expectations,” Rawson said.
The four-bedroom home on a large 1148sq m site, zoned for density with a mixed housing suburban designation, was snapped up by an investor.
Ray White agent Xavier Tofilau, who works with Rawson, said anything with development potential would attract more buyers.
10 Smedley Street in Manurewa was sold for $945,000. Photo/ Supplied
“We do see a lot of first home buyers looking in the area but in Mangere East the big high value sales are mainly [to] developers and investors who drive up the prices,” Tofilau said.
Fellow Ray White agent Monika Maynard said, on average, every property coming under the hammer in Mangere East was attracting between six and ten bidders.
The three-bedroom property she marketed at 5 Moffitt Place sold under the hammer for $990,000 last week. Six active bidders drove the price $400,000 over its CV of $590,000.
It was an unexpected price for everyone in the auction room, she told OneRoof.
15 Moffit Place, on a 400smq site zoned for development, sold earlier this month for $945,000. Photo/Supplied
“The person who purchased the property missed out four times on homes in different areas and he said, ‘I just need to buy now’. No one was prepared to pay as much as it sold for, but it did,” she said.
Again, the 95sqm home on a 678sq m corner site is zoned for mixed housing suburban and was a purchased by an investor. Maynard says the buyer will rent the property for some $600 per week and might develop the site in the future.
Neighbouring 15 Moffit Place, on much smaller site of 400sqm, sold earlier this month for $945,000 with the same development potential.
Maynard said that now in South Auckland only some parts of Manurewa and Otara could still be deemed affordable.
“People think that Mangere East is more affordable but that’s been and gone. It’s a hidden gem that people have finally discovered how many years later,” she added.
OneRoof Valocity data show that since Covid lockdown in March, Mangere East had a 13.7 percent lift in the median value to $855,000, while Manurewa is at $770,000 and Otara is at $730,000.
But even formerly affordable Manurewa is rapidly moving out of reach. A three-bedroom home on 10 Smedley Street sold under the hammer for $851,000 on Saturday.
The 607sqm property, also zoned for development, sold for $291,000 over its 2017 CV.
