A run-down three-bedroom house in a former east Auckland State housing suburb sold for $2.205 million at auction this week, more than $1.2m above its 2017 council valuation.
The Hilton Place property on 1019sqm is in the recently gentrified Wai O Taiki Bay, a waterside suburb between Glen Innes and the Tamaki Estuary. It had zoning for urban density, highly desirable to developers.
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Bayleys agents Marie Graham and Claire Hutchinson, who marketed the property, said that at least 18 developers looked at the site as its zoning allowed homes up to three storeys high to give sought-after water views.
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“It’s got nice views of Mount Wellington and One Tree Hill, from the second level you can see the water and our drone footage shows from the third floor you’d even see Rangitoto. There are still a few places left like this,” Hutchinson says.
The Hilton Place site is zoned for density so was sought after by developers. Photo / Supplied
Despite their location next to the Tamaki River and the Tahuna Torea nature sanctuary, the suburbs around Glen Innes, Panmure and Point England have suffered from poor housing stock and social deprivation.
But since 2009, the Tamaki regeneration project is replacing 2500 worn State homes with 10,500 new homes in a mix of private market, affordable and State housing. Wai O Taiki Bay on the best slopes overlooking the water now has streets of new houses.
A new four-bedroom house at Fernwood Place, Wai O Taiki Bay sold in February for $2.02m. Photo / Supplied
Graham adds that this corner of the neighbourhood is still being discovered, and as long-term residents move out there will be more land opening up for development.
“There were four active bidders, two bidding past the $2m. They are reputable firms who do a lot of work around Auckland, one does a lot in Glen Innes.”
A new four-bedroom home on West Tamaki Road sold for $2.27m in December. Photo / Supplied
The pair say that the buyers are yet to finalise their plans on what they will build, but add that the demand for finished townhouses in the area means a four-bedroom property could easily get $2.2m to $2.3m in the current market, while a three-bedroom terrace house could fetch $1.6m to $1.8m.
A four-bedroom home, built in 2018, sold on Clairville Crescent in April for $1.975m. Photo / Supplied
“And that’s first-home buyers, that’s the reality. We recently sold a stand-alone 1980s house on 600sqm to a first-home buyer for $1.65m. People pay a premium for a stand-alone house now,” Hutchinson says.
“It’s still being discovered, there are still a few beautiful sites left.”
An original house on a 880sqm corner site at Inglewood Street sold for $1.82m. Photo / Supplied
