Omcnow for real— How bizarre

Twenty-eight years ago when brothers Phil and Pauly Fuemana formed the

tara Millionaires Club it was a sly reference to the fact that the South Auckland suburb was one of the city’s poorest.

Not any more. At the start of October the suburb cracked its first $1 million house sale, followed by two more last month.

In the words of the OMC’S worldwide 1996 hit: Howbizarre.

LJ Hooker agent Madu Kari, who brokered the $1.1m deal with Dushen Mallimaratchi, had not even realised his October 1 sale was a record. He said the 1477sqmproperty on the edge of Ngati

tara Park had 21 groups through it, mostly developers attracted by the high-density zoning of the flat site which can host town houses or apartments.

Kari says the eventual buyers of the pair of do-up houses, a four-bedroom and a three-bedroom, were investors who planned to hold on to the property. The vendors, who had lived there for 12 years, had paid $340,000 for it — a profit, on paper at least, of $760,000.

The top tara price was for a development site in Preston Rd that sold at the end of last month for $1.256m. Ray White agent Garry Singh, who sold the property with Jarvis Adams, says the price was a record because of the site’s relatively small size— 796sq m. The pair of twobedroom units had a joint CV of $870,000.

“Rental investors are actually paying more than developers as the returns are higher, no matter what you pay,” Singh said.

“This property generates $900 rent a week, it’s just crazy for what it is, but it had been renovated to perfection.

“No one used to touch these houses, now it’s definitely gone crazy.

“Everywhere’s amillion-dollar suburb now, particularly anything over 800sq m.”

The third million-dollar sale in tara was a corner section which went for $1,010,000. Marketed by Barfoot & Thompson agents Kelly Zhang and Tim Zhou, the mixed housing urban zone property on 784sqmwent for $410,000 above CV.

Records show the property last changed hands eight years ago for just $263,000— a gain, on paper, of $747,000.

James Wilson, Oneroof data partner Valocity’s director of valuation, says that with the suburb’s huge influx of both first home buyers and investors “value trends are only going to go one way”. “Logically, those values will spread out in concentric circles as firsthome buyers then jump to Takinini, Papakura or Manurewa.”

Tom Rawson, who co-owns Ray White offices in Manurewa, Manukau and Ma¯ngere Bridge, says tara prices are still good value for developers.