- Buyers paid $2.5m for a quake-damaged Christchurch house to build their dream home.
- The 645sqm Merivale property sold at auction, setting a record at $3875 per square metre.
- Agent Adam Heazlewood highlighted strong demand for prime land in Christchurch’s elite suburbs.
Buyers have paid $2.5 million for a large Christchurch house they plan to demolish and replace with their dream home.
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They snapped up the four-bedroom property on Helmores Lane, in Merivale, at a heated auction last week.
The quake-damaged house, located on one of Christchurch’s most prestigious streets, was being sold “as is, where is” and had attracted the attention of eight bidders, all of whom wanted the 645sqm of land it sits on.
Buyers only wanted the property for its 645sqm section and the prestigious address. Photo / Supplied
Bidding opened at $1.75m and quickly shot past the property’s RV of $1.8m. The property was declared on the market at $2.2m and sold seven bids later for $2.5m.
The vendor had bought the property in 2017 for just over $1.1m and planned to build a new home on it. However, his plans changed, and he put it on the market after moving out of the city.
Bayleys agent Adam Heazlewood said the sale price was impressive, noting that most of the interest had come from families and downsizers who wanted the spot.
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“Realistically, you can’t buy land in that area, and the options available are limited, hence the degree of interest.”
He said the price worked out at $3875 per square metre of land, a record for Merivale and every Christchurch suburb outside the CBD. “Next to nothing has cracked $3000 per square metre, let alone close to $4000 per square metre. It’s a goodie.”
Heazlewood did note that the price was more than buyers would pay for a typical house in Merivale. “But people want to build exactly what they want, and to do so they’ve got to compete for the land,” he told OneRoof.
A 582sqm section on Cox Street, in Merivale, sold for $1.545m at auction in May. Photo / Supplied
He said Helmores Lane was considered one of the city’s best addresses, if not the best. “The location is unbelievable. It’s right next to the park, and you are surrounded by some of the most expensive homes in Christchurch. It is a phenomenal position.”
Earlier this year, a vacant 582sqm section on Cox Street, in Merivale, made headlines after selling for $1.545m – $2654 per square metre, one of the highest sums paid for development land in the suburb for some time.
Heazlewood said both sales showed the strength of demand for sites in Christchurch’s elite suburbs. “I would argue the biggest point of growth this year has been prime land because the metre rate record has been broken several times this year.”
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