- Luxury homes in Auckland and Thames offered with free cars failed to entice buyers for the vehicles.
- Yousef Mansour’s Auckland home sold after negotiations, but the $300,000 Lamborghini was not included.
- A Thames property sold for $1.275m, but the $50,000 Lincoln Continental was declined by the buyer.
Buy the luxury homes, get the flash cars for free. That was the offer in Thames and Auckland this week, but while buyers were keen on the luxury homes, they weren’t that fussed about the cars.
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First to hit the auction floor was a three-storey home on Grand Ridge Drive, in the Auckland suburb of Flat Bush.
Owner Yousef Mansour told OneRoof ahead of the sale that the “party” house he and his wife built in 2024 no longer suited them now that they have a baby on the way.
Same with his $300,000 Lamborghini Huracan EVO RWD, which he offered to buyers as part of the sale.
The Grand Ridge Drive build was completed less than two years ago, with the vendor claiming it’s the nicest house in the suburb. Photo / Supplied
“We are expecting our first baby shortly, and we have realised that the house is not very baby-friendly nor is the car, so we have decided to trade in that particular lifestyle,” he said.
The couple were still child-free when Mansour bought the Lambo last year. “We knew we were going to try for a baby, and I said, ‘Well, I’m going to have the car because soon I won’t be having the car’, so I decided to get it out of my system.”
His wife, who drives a Skoda, was really happy the Lamborghini was included in the sale, he joked.
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However, the sole bidder at this week’s auction wasn’t keen on the car. The property failed to reach the reserve, after bidding stopped at $1.7m.
A deal was struck after lengthy negotiations. Ray White AT Realty auctioneer Robert Tulp told the crowd in the room he could not disclose the sale price, but confirmed the 2021 Lamborghini Huracan EVO RWD had not been part of the final deal.
The buyer does get a nice home, though. Mansour, who managed the build, told OneRoof that it was “probably the nicest one in the subdivision”.
He chose high-end Buster + Punch fixtures and opted for a black-and-white colour scheme to create a sense of unity and flow. “I think indoor-outdoor flow is very important. And proportions too. If you are going to have a big lounge, you are going to need an 8m kitchen as well.”
The house, which has an inground pool, was perfect for entertaining guests, he said. “I’m definitely going to miss the parties. The parties get lit.”
Bayleys agents Karl Davis and Pippa Jackson with their vendors’ 1975 Lincoln Continental Mark IV. The new owner of the Clarence Street property, in Thames, decided to pass on the car. Photo / Supplied
Two bidders fought over the Clarence Street property at auction, and it sold within two weeks of hitting the market. Photo / Supplied
Meanwhile, in Thames, another property with a “free” car smashed expectations in the auction room. However, the new owner won’t be driving off with the 1975 Lincoln Continental Mark IV, which the vendors had offered as a sweetener.
The architecturally designed house on Clarence Street was snapped up by a phone bidder for $1.275m, several thousand above the reserve of $1.237m.
Bayleys listing agent Karl Davis said the vintage motor, worth over $50,000, had been removed from the sale after the vendors accepted a pre-auction offer from a woman who said she didn’t want the car.
She was pipped at the auction by the phone bidder, who was a local businessman. The vendors gave him the option of paying extra for the car, but he decided against it.
“They were only focused on the house; they didn’t see any value in the car.”
Davis said the offer of the car had definitely helped the listing stand out and emphasised just how motivated the vendors were.
However, not all buyers wanted them. “Cars are a blessing and a curse. If you like them and you drive them, awesome. If you have to store them somewhere, then you have to pay $100 a week, and it can be a little bit of a curse.”
Davis earlier told OneRoof that the property’s RV of $1.79m was “well over the top” and had been encouraging buyers with budgets of $900,000 and above to take a look.
The vendors, who were moving to Cambridge to be closer to family, were pleased with the sale and are now considering what to do with their classic car.
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