- A $4m-plus Westmere bungalow attracted 48 groups at its first open-home weekend.
- Agent Denise Glozier said buyers prefer solid bungalows over costlier-to-fix Grey Lynn villas.
- The renovated home features four bedrooms, four bathrooms, a media room and an outdoor pool.
A $4 million-plus Auckland bungalow attracted a line of buyers at the weekend, with the listing agent telling OneRoof she was like a sergeant major directing the foot traffic.
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The renovated home at 34 Fife Street, in Westmere, hit the market a week ago with Glozier Real Estate agent Denise Glozier and has been finished to a luxury standard.
Glozier said that time-poor buyers preferred the upmarket suburb’s solid bungalows over colder, costlier-to-fix villas in neighbouring Grey Lynn.
She said she dealt with 48 groups at the first weekend of open homes, and had already received a serious offer from a buyer.
The four-bedroom bungalow boasts a luxury finish. Photo / Supplied
The listing agent says buyers at that end of the market don’t have time to renovate. Photo / Supplied
“I couldn’t believe the amount of people. The quality of shoes at the door was mighty high. I thought, ‘Oh, it will be quieter on Sunday’. It wasn’t, and every day since I’ve had appointments to get people back through.”
The home, which is on a corner site and boasts views of the Sky Tower, has four spacious bedrooms, four bathrooms with underfloor heating, a designer kitchen, a scullery, a dedicated media room, and an outdoor pool.
Glozier said in her listing that the master wing “offers a private retreat, complete with a spa-inspired ensuite featuring a jet bath and a large walk-in wardrobe”.
The agent told OneRoof that Westmere was popular with young families who perhaps could not afford the more expensive homes in neighbouring Herne Bay but still wanted a beautiful home.
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She said these buyers were increasingly turning away from the previously popular character villas of Grey Lynn. They no longer wanted to put the time and money into renovating them, she said.
“Definitely, they don’t want to do the work because the cost to renovate now is hideous,” she said. “You’ve got to spend so much money on villas, whereas [Westmere’s] bungalows are more solid. I think a bungalow has become a very attractive property, more so than a villa now.”
Villas were harder to heat, she said, and parts of Grey Lynn and Ponsonby were previously down-at-heel, so the older homes took a lot of money to renovate and upgrade to modern standards.
“Whereas Westmere, parts of it were very middle class, and it’s just right on that water’s edge. Ponsonby and Grey Lynn are not on that water’s edge – everybody wants to be on the water.”
The outdoor entertainment space is warm and inviting. Photo / Supplied
The house has four bedrooms and a master wing with a retreat-like vibe. Photo / Supplied
Glozier said her vendors were not under pressure, but had lived in the house for 20 years and were now looking to downsize.
The house, she said, dated back to the 1930s and was a good build to start with: “It would have been a bit of a good house at the time. It was never a dump, never. You can tell by the scale of the rooms. It’s impeccable.”
- 34 Fife Street, Westmere, Auckland, is for sale by negotiation
