- A South Auckland developer sold three townhouses for over $1.7m after a $1 reserve auction.
- The properties, initially listed at $874,000, sold for $570,000, $580,000 and $588,000.
- Listing agent Harsh Kathuria said the sales allowed the developer, who was at “breaking point”, to move on.
A struggling developer who reached “breaking point” caught a break this week after gambling on a $1 reserve auction.
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The South Auckland developer got more than $1.7 million this week for the three high-spec townhouses he was selling on Caspar Road, in Papatoetoe.
He had previously struggled to find buyers for the properties and, according to his listing agent, was in “an extremely tight spot”.
The first house he put on the block at Harcourt’s Papatoetoe auction rooms on Wednesday had a declared reserve of $1.
The townhouse, one of three properties sold by the developer this week, attracted multiple bids. Photo / Supplied
Sixteen registered bidders turned up in the hope of grabbing a bargain. The opening salvo, however, was, at $100,000, quite a bit above the reserve, and the property eventually sold 68 bids later for $570,000 – below the RV of $790,000.
The remaining two townhouses in the same block were called immediately after and sold under the hammer for $580,000 and $588,000, to buyers who had missed out on the first property.
Harcourts listing agent Harsh Kathuria said: “They all tried their luck on the first one.”
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Kathuria said the sales meant his client could finally move on.
The developer had completed the townhouses in 2021 and tried to sell them a year later for $874,000. However, he failed to find buyers at that level and turned them into rentals. He relisted the properties in October last year and dropped the asking price to $680,000, but again, no luck.
Kathuria had told OneRoof that he had been at “breaking point” and needed to sell at least one of the properties, regardless of price.
The high-spec townhouse was a magnet for investors looking for a high-yield purchase. Photo / Supplied
While sale prices were well below what he had initially hoped to get, he had ultimately decided to accept the unconditional cash offers.
“The most important part was the closure. They had it on the market with two different agents, and it was about getting something over the line,” he said.
Kathuria said the auction attracted investors from around the country looking for high yield.
“The room was full, packed. The bids were coming, and the auctioneer was overwhelmed, saying ‘OMG, what was the highest bid? You guys have to tell me now, there are so many people talking numbers’.”
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