- A South Auckland homeowner is offering a $50,000 fishing boat with his three-bedroom home to attract buyers.
- Harcourts agent Gabriel Elkhishin says the boat helps the property stand out in a crowded market.
- Offering additional chattels can make properties more appealing, though it doesn’t always increase the sale price.
A South Auckland homeowner is hoping his $50,000 fishing boat is just the bait house-buyers need in the city’s sluggish housing market.
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He is bringing his three-bedroom renovated home at 95 Wordsworth Road, in Manurewa to auction next month, and believes the offer of a free charter boat will be enough to get people to bid.
Harcourts listing agent Gabriel Elkhishin said there were hundreds of three-bedroom homes for sale in the suburb, so the vendor needed something that would help his home stand out.
“I was like, ‘Yes, the house is beautiful. Yes, the renovation is great. Yes, it’s a full section, but what else can we do that sets you apart from every other full section in Manurewa right now?’ And he was like, ‘Well, should I give my boat with the house?’.”
The 33-foot Regal Commodore cruising boat is listed as one of the chattels and is worth $50,000. Photo / Supplied
A new kitchen was installed as part of the recent renovation. Photo / Supplied
Elkhishin thought it was a genius idea. The 33-foot Regal Commodore cruising boat, which sleeps up to two couples and has a kitchen and toilet, is now listed as one of the chattels.
Elkhishin’s client paid $850,000 for 95 Wordsworth Road in 2021, at the height of the market. He then spent a significant amount of money renovating the inside and concreting and gating the outside to accommodate his trucking business.
The vendor was keen to make a deal, having already moved on to a lifestyle property. “For him, it’s more like a change of lifestyle,” Elkhishin said.
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The agent said the house was the perfect home for young families and buyers with lots of toys. ”You can have the motorbikes, have the trucks, have the weekend cars - there’s plenty of space to park onsite, and it’s fully fenced, the concreting has already been done, and the boat is already there.”
Elkhishin told OneRoof that offers of additional chattels did not always lead to a higher price, but they did help properties stand out from the crowd.
“If you are looking at four full sites in Manurewa and only one of them comes with a boat, that could be the one that you take time to register to bid at auction and come to the open home.”
The agent said he recently sold a large Flat Bush property with a spa and sauna, two features that proved a real drawcard for buyers.
A free sauna and spa led to more bidders at the auction for this Flat Bush property. Photo / Supplied
Elkhishin said the Koropa Road home was competing against lots of similar six-bedroom-plus properties in the suburb. However, it attracted more registered bidders and fetched a premium price of $1.6m because it offered something extra. “It was a little bit point of difference.”
Sellers offering heavy incentives to buyers in a flat or depressed market is not uncommon.
In March this year, an Auckland retiree heading overseas offered to give away his $250,000 sports car with his Remuera penthouse, but when the new owner finally emerged, they didn’t want the Porsche 911 Turbo S and negotiated the price accordingly.
And last year, the owners of a renovated five-bedroom property on Beach Road, in Waiake, Auckland, offered a free Tesla to buyers. Again, the eventual buyers decided to pass on the car and buy below the $2.499m advertised price.
- 95 Wordsworth Road, in Manurewa, Auckland, goes to auction on October 1
