- A tired Ponsonby villa sold for $1.625m at auction, exceeding its $1m reserve.
- The three-bedroom home attracted 21 bidders, with renovators MJ Living winning the auction.
- The vendors, planning to retire to the Cook Islands, were thrilled with the result.
A tired-looking Auckland villa that went to auction with a reserve of just $1 million - less than half its RV - sold for $1.625m today at a frantic auction.
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The three-bedroom property on Provost Street, in the wealthy suburb of Ponsonby, had been owned by the same family for 40 years and attracted a lot of heat at Ray White Manukau’s mega auction event.
Ray White auctioneer Sam Steele told a packed auction room: “For many of you here today, it’s the one you’ve been waiting for.”
He added that the house was in “cantankerous condition” but bidders would not find a better buy.
The house has been owned by the same family for more than 40 years. Photo / Supplied
The house sits on a 276sqm section in one of Auckland’s wealthiest neighbourhoods. Photo / Supplied
The property was number four on the block and had followed three South Auckland homes, which sold for between $500,000 and just under $1m.
Twenty-one bidders had registered for the auction, with the scramble for victory beginning with a cheeky bid of $100,000.
Bidding soared past the $1m reserve in less than a minute, and the action didn’t stop until the hammer came down at $1.625m - $725,000 below the RV, but still well above the vendors’ expectations.
Ray White Manukau co-owner Tom Rawson said opportunists may have kicked off the proceedings, but renovators MJ Living ended up winning the fight.
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“[Ponsonby is] easily a $2m suburb. The sale price gives them room to do a quality renovation and hopefully make profit,” Rawson told OneRoof.
He said the vendors were thrilled with the result. “They had five family members there [at the auction], and they are just so stoked. I went and saw them and they are very happy.”
There were five family members linked to the Provost Street bungalow.
TT Tumaki owned the home with her mother. Both women and Tumaki’s grandmother and great grandmother have all lived there.
The listing photos show that the vendors are ready to move. Photo / Supplied
The mother and daughter duo had finally decided to sell the Ponsonby home to retire to the Cook Islands. They chose Ray White’s Charlie Brothers as their listing agent because he was also from the Cook Islands and had good market knowledge.
Brothers told OneRoof that the vendors had decided to put a $1m reserve on the property late last week to show how motivated they were. “They have to sell. They are off to Rarotonga.”
The listing for the 1920s bungalow described it as “a rare opportunity to own a piece of Auckland’s vibrant history” and that it was a “character-filled home with a unique blend of timeless charm and exciting potential for modern living”.
The photos showed a tired property with grey paint peeling off the weatherboards, retro patterned wallpaper in some of the rooms and a shabby kitchen with chipped cupboard doors.
There were more than 50 groups through the property, including 25 groups in the last weekend of open home.
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