A three-bedroom villa on Auckland's North Shore sold under the hammer last week for just over $2 million after crowded open homes.
Ray White Ponsonby agent Will Gluestein told OneRoof that the classic bay villa on Queen Street, in Northcote Point, was snapped up by a local couple for just over $2 million, but they faced strong competition from buyers from over the Harbour Bridge.
"We had 87 groups through the open homes. The two other registered bidders were from the city side," Gluestein said.
“Over half the people were from Ponsonby, Grey Lynn, Point Chev – the western fringe basically.”
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Gluestein said the level of interest in the villa was huge, noting that open home numbers for good properties right now were around 40 groups.
He said city-side buyers could get more for their money in Northcote Point without having to skimp on quality.
Almost 90 groups came through the open homes for the Queen Street villa. Photo / Supplied
The tidy Queen Street villa had two bathrooms, a garage and off-street parking and sat on 601sqm of land. The agent called it “turnkey ready” as it had undergone cosmetic updates, had a glimpse of the sea and was within walking distance of local attractions, the Northcote Tavern, Bridgeway Cinema, restaurants and the ferry.
The $2.05m sale price was above the RV of $1.875m and in line with buyer feedback for the property.
Ray White Remuera and Ponsonby co-owner Thomas Farmer said it wasn't unusual to see buyers zigzagging around Auckland, with schooling often the biggest driver of suburb-hopping.
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However, buyers were also on the hunt for homes that offered more value for the money.
"When you spend the same amount of money in greater Ponsonby, you'd have a smaller home and smaller land size. So that's where we see people transition for the home size and land size," he said.
Auctioneer John Bowring reckons a similar property to Queen Street would fetch "upwards of around $2.5m" - another $450,000 - over the bridge.
Gluestein noted strong buyer interest in Northcote Point. A three-bedroom cedar townhouse on Princes Street with city views, a double garage and extra parking, sold in four weeks for $2.275m to buyers moving from Australia.
Buyers moving from Point Chevalier snapped up a Northcote Point villa on Clarence Road for just over $2m. Photo / Supplied
And buyers moving from Point Chevalier snapped up a four-bedroom bay villa on a 302sqm site on Clarence Road for $2.05m, just over the asking price of $1.995m.
“They were looking all over, both sides of the bridge," he said, noting that demand was outstripping supply.
Bowering expects more stock to come to the market in the next couple of months, with homeowners starting to shrug off election concerns. "People are starting to realise, 'Gee, this is close; I might not be on the market until February, I might not settle until April'. So people are going, 'Let's just keep going'. Everyone I have been speaking with is keen to go this side of Christmas."
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