Market Watch: CVs that are ‘so far out of whack’
Buyers compete to secure house on Waiheke Island, writes CATHERINE SMITH.
Anail-biter of an auction of a two-bedroom bach on Waiheke Island proved to be a masterclass in bidding technique.
Four buyers duked it out last week to secure 33 Miro Road, in Palm Beach, driving the price to $2.176 million - $26,000 above the reserve and more than $1m above the 2017 CV.
Bidding on the stylish home started at what Bayleys’ national auction manager Conor Patton called a "optimistic” $1.4m and then quickly rose in jumps of $100,000 to $1.8m.
The early bidders were then trumped by a call of $2m, the first bid from a cool and calm couple on the floor.
“We should have started there,” Patton joked. “Nobody listens to me - it’s just like at home.” Humour helped the back and forth between a buyer on the phone and bidders in the room until proceedings paused at $2.1 million for negotiations with the vendor.
Thirteen bids later and a very pleased late-bidding couple secured the bach for $2.176m. The house is a rare find on the island – stunning sea views, within walking distance of the beach, stylish de´ cor and great outdoor spaces, including a fireplace.
The listing agent, Bayleys’ Mandy Brown, said it was absolutely gorgeous – “a 1950s-character bach but modern inside”.
She had 85 groups through the property during the threeweek campaign, “nearly all of them looking for a holiday, rather than permanent, home”.
She said rating valuations on the island were “so far out of whack”, and had no impact on buyer price expectations.
“The bidding just shows how competitive the market is. The desire to own a bach is very strong and auctions are delivering,” she said, adding that Palm Beach had the lowest turnover of properties on Waiheke Island (33 Miro Road last changed hands in 2008 for $707,500).
The slate of Auckland properties for sale at Bayleys’ auction also attracted strong interest from buyers.
A starter home at 66 West Harbour Drive, in West Harbour, sold for $905,000 after bidding from two young couples while a new townhouse at 55B Kelmarna Avenue, in Herne Bay, was picked up for $1.975m after a brief negotiation, and a five-bedroom nearly new home on a small cross-lease site at 690E Mount Eden Road, in Mount Eden, fetched $3.05m.
The next day, bidding was bolder for properties at the top end of town: a Parnell cottage sold for $3.3m, a striking modern build in Remuera fetched $4.405m and a classic Kiwi brick and tile home in Farm Cove was snapped up for $2.55m.