- Buyers paid over $2m for a four-bedroom Kohimarama home within 10 hours.
- Cash buyers made an offer before marketing began, and vendors accepted it by dinner.
- Agents say decisive buyers are also securing suitable Auckland homes before scheduled sales.
Buyers paid over $2 million for a substantial character home in Auckland’s Kohimarama last week, less than 10 hours after first inspecting it.
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New Zealand Sotheby’s International Realty agent Paul Sissons told OneRoof that the buyers pounced before his colleagues had a chance to photograph the classic 1950s house on Allum Street.
He said fellow agents Karen Moore and James Kelly were still getting the house ready for marketing when Sissons asked the owner if he could show the property to some of his clients early.
“There were a couple of us [agents] who had seen it and thought we might have somebody who could be interested. The owner was happy at that stage to have those people come through,” Sissons said.
“So, on Sunday, two groups went through at 10am. My buyers went back at 1.30 and spent a bit more time there. They decided to move quickly. We wrote up an offer and presented it to the owner at 4.30. It was accepted at dinner time.”
The 1950s home had been owned by the vendors for around 40 years. Photo / Supplied
Sissons could not divulge the sale price but said it was close to the RV of $2.55m.
He had sold the buyers’ home last year, and had been helping them find another in the area. “They were looking for their next home; something they could do a bit of a project on,” Sissons said, noting that the vendors, who had lived at the property for around 40 years, were grateful to have “well-qualified cash buyers”.
The Allum Street house had four bedrooms, multiple living rooms, a pool and was within easy walking distance of the local school, St Thomas’s. The section was 809sqm in size.
The latest Real Estate Institute of New Zealand figures highlight sluggishness in the wider Auckland market, with sales in July down almost 9% year-on-year and the median days to sell rising to 50 days.
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However, Sissons said that cash buyers were moving quickly if they discovered something that met all their requirements. “There are people out there saying, ‘Oh, the market is buggered’, but the buyers who are seriously looking say, ‘Right, let’s get on with it’. The ones who say, ‘I’m not sure, I need to have another think about it’ are missing out.”
NZ Sotheby’s Remuera manager Jonathan Sissons said Allum Street wasn’t the only home on the agency’s books attracting decisive buyers, with a luxury property in neighbouring St Heliers snapped up well before its deadline sale date.
“It’s a clear sign that there is buyer activity for the right property,” he said.
“People are on the move, and are serious about buying and selling for lifestyle reasons before the election. Buyers are here to buy; this is not speculative.”
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