A luxury apartment at Viaduct Harbour fails to reach its declared reserve of $195,000 when put to auction

A luxury apartment at Auckland's Viaduct harbour failed to sell at auction today, even though the reserve price was just $195,000.

The two bedroom waterfront apartment in The Quays complex had spectacular views looking over the marina towards the harbour bridge.

But the fact that it was on a leasehold title appeared to deter potential bidders when it was put up for auction by Bayleys Real Estate in their Viaduct Harbour auction room on Wednesday.

According to QV.co.nz the 67 square metre apartment was originally purchased for $338,000 in 2002 and resold for $405,000 in 2007.

However since then prices for leasehold properties have fallen sharply as buyers have become wary of rising ground rents.

In an unusual move, the reserve price of just $195,000 was declared to potential buyers prior to the auction, in the hope that this would generate additional interest.

However when the auctioneer asked for an opening bid of $195,000 at the auction, the room stayed chillingly quiet as potential buyers remained unwilling to meet the stated reserve.

After some encouragement from the auctioneer one brave soul offered $150,000, which was accepted by the auctioneer.

That prompted another bidder to enter the fray which eventually pushed the top bid up to $165,000, at which point the auctioneer paused proceedings to take instructions form the vendor in private.

When he returned to the room and reopened bidding, no one was prepared to offer a higher price than the previous bid of $165,000 and it was passed in for sale by negotiation.