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Bidders are out in force for better quality apartments

Property
Bidders are out in force for better quality apartments
A one bedroom apartment in the Grand Chancellor building sold for $512,000.

Larger and better quality apartments in Auckland's CBD that might appeal to owner-occupiers continue to sell well and a 56 square metre one bedroom unit at the bottom of Hobson St cracked the half million dollar mark at today's City Sales apartment auction. The fact that the property was close to Viaduct Harbour but was on a freehold title in an area where many other apartments are leasehold, probably helped its cause.

There was also competitive bidding on a similar sized unit in Eden Terrace on the fringe of the CBD, which was sold for $283,000 and there were plenty of bidders for an apartment in The Metropolis.

A bigger two bedroom unit in The Chatham building high on the K'Rd ridge went against the trend and was passed in, as were a tiny 18 square metre student flat and a couple of units in a building with weathertightness issues.

The full results from the auction are below:

1a/7 Charlotte St, Eden Terrace. Memphis Apartments.  A 53 square metre, one bedroom unit with a car park, likely to appeal to owner-occupiers. Sold with vacant possession. There were several bidders for this property and it sold under the hammer for $283,000. Rates were $1088 and the body corporate levy was $2991. According to QV.co.nz it was last sold for $214,000 in 2004. The agent was Gabrielle Hoffmann.

507/43 Anzac Ave. The Cambridge. An 18 square metre studio rented at $250 a week, with the tenancy agreement expiring in January. The auctioneer opened the bidding with a vendor bid of $120,000 but there were no further bids and it was passed in. Rates were $890 and the body corporate levy $3813. According to QV.co.nz the unit was last sold for $94,500 in 2004. The agent was Tony Kelly.

2113/1 Courthouse Lane. The Metropolis. A 45 square metre, one bedroom unit with a car park, sold fully furnished. Vacant. There were multiple bidders for the unit and it sold under the hammer $394,000. Rates were $1411 and the body corporate levy $5022. According to QV.co.nz it was last sold for $240,000 in 2004. The agents were Ryan Bridgman and Steve Kirk.

505/70 Pitt St. Chatham Apartments. A 72 square metre, two bedroom, two bathroom unit but without a car park. Offered with vacant possession. The auctioneer opened the bidding with a vendor bid of $450,000 but there were no further bids and it was passed in. Rates were $1911 and the body corporate levy $4047. According to QV.co.nz it was last sold for $413,500 in 2010. The agent was Mike Campbell.

1304/1 Hobson St. The Grand Chancellor. A 56 square metre one bedroom unit with a car park. Vacant. There were multiple bidders for this unit and it sold under the hammer for $512,000. Rates were $1492 and the body corporate levy $5337. According to QV.co.nz the unit was last sold for $485,000 in December last year. The agent was Lucy Piatov.

1013 and 1014/135 Hobson St. Imperial Gardens building. Both of these 30 square metre, one bedroom apartments were being sold by the same overseas vendor. One unit was vacant and the other was rented at $310 a week on a periodic tenancy. This building has been found to have construction defects and weathertightness issues which are currently being addressed and are the subject of litigation. An opening bid of $40,000 was made for the first unit and when no further bids were received it was passed in. No bids were made for the second unit. According to QV.co.nz they were purchased for $140,000 each in 2004. The agent for both units was Georgia Featherstone.

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10 Comments

Wow , at nearly $10,000 a square metre for a 56m2 apartment unit , the market has now gone way past the point of "IRRATIONAL EXUBERANCE "

 

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At 3 - 7% percent growth though - your actual rent is the rates & bc levy.  Notice the fast turn arounds

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Checking the latest DBH rental figures for November, central wellington 2 bedroom apartments have just hit $500 per week for median rent for the first time.  These suburbs are Lambton (apartments around lambton/the terrace north of dixon) and Te aro.

No new builds happening in central welly, only one way prices will be moving in light of these things.  Seems a better bet than the auckland apartment market (used to be fairly closely matched over past decades on $/sq m, now welly seems cheap with much better yields possible).

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Comparable suburbs in auckland (central east, central west) have median rent for 2 bedroom apartments at $425 and $447.

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It takes one little shake from mother nature to clean out Lambton Quay area, I believe it's reclaimed land.

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It takes one little "volcanic eruption" from mother nature to clean out the "Queen Street" area, I believe it's "a volcanic field".

We all live in a natural disaster zone chaiman moa...people in glass houses...

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And if Auckland just doesn't float your boat a scroll through these Brisbane apartments for a bit of a comparison is worth while.

 

http://www.realestate.com.au/buy/property-apartment-in-brisbane+city,+q…

 

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Wow 56Sq/m thats twice the size of my bedroom ! don't know how people live in these places. Looked at a few years ago, you cannot swing a cat in them and sometimes the doors bang into one another if you open them at the same time. Room for 4 towels and some clothes and thats it. Great as a Monday to Friday crash pad if you work in the inner city but you have to "Live" somewhere else. We just don't know have to build appartments you can have a life in, not to mention the watertight issues.

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On the "plus" side they might only be able to afford some towels and clothes.

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