There has been a quieter tone at apartment auctions this week with one of the four auctioned by City Sales selling under the hammer and one of the three offered by Bayleys as part of a larger residential auction selling under the hammer.
This may be due to the onset of the silly season, with some potential buyers possibly distracted by such things as holidays arrangements, Christmas parties, shopping and children's end of year school commitments, meaning those that are still active in the market face less competition and may feel less compelled to seal a deal on the auction floor.
However the high number of auction properties selling under the hammer is a comparatively recent phenomenon and it could be the case that the rapid rise in Auckland property prices which is currently being experienced is reducing of pool of potential buyers who can bid unconditionally on the day.
If that is case, it may become more common for properties to be passed in so that negotiations can continue while hopeful purchasers adjust their financial arrangements to get a deal over the line.
However we will probably have to wait until the market cranks up again in the New Year to see if that turns out to be a trend.
The full results from this week's City Sales and Bayleys apartment auctions are below.
City Sales auction. Wednesday 10 December:
9B/18 Scotia Place. Nova en Scotia building. A 53sq m, two bedroom unit with a car park, overlooking Myers Park. Vacant. Sold under the hammer for $376,000. Body corporate levy $4593 and rates $1152. According to QV.co.nz the apartment was last sold for $168,000 in 2008. It's latest rating valuation was $345.000.
102/43 Anzac Ave. Cambridge Apartments. A five bedroom, two bathroom student flat squeezed into 79sq m. Offered fully furnished. Rented at $925 a week until January 2016. This opened with a vendor bid of $480,000 but when there were no further bids it was passed in for sale by negotiation. Body corporate levy $9008. Rates $1422. According to QV.co.nz the property was last sold for $560,000 in 2000. It's latest rating valuation was $430,000.
8/9 Parliament St. Courtville building. A 49sq m one bedroom unit in a character building. Vacant. Opened with a vendor bid of $530,000 and when there were no further bids it was passed in for sale by negotiation. Body corporate levy $4592. Rates $1459. According to QV.co.nz it was last sold for $276,500 in 2005. Its latest rating valuation is $395,000.
307/10 Fox St, Parnell. Zenith Apartments. A 105sq m, three bedroom, two bathroom unit with two car parks. Passed in with a highest bid of $635,000. Rates were $2089 and body corporate levy $4364. No sales history was available but the rating valuation was $685,000.
Bayleys Maritime Square auction, Wednesday 10 December:
6c/22 Queen St. The Dilworth building. A 90sq m, two bedroom apartment in landmark, character building on the corner of Queen and Customs Streets. North facing. Opened with a vendor bid of $450,000 and when the highest bid from the floor reached $490,000, the auctioneer made another vendor bid of $520,000. When no further bids were received it was passed in for sale by negotiation. According to QV.co.nz the apartment was last sold for $440,000 in 2012.
211/121 Customs St west. The Point complex. A one bedroom waterfront apartment with a car park and a large west facing deck at Viaduct Harbour. On a leasehold title. There were no bids for the property and it was passed in. Rates were $2299 and the body corporate levy including ground rent was $14,076. According to QV.co.nz it was last sold for $585,000 in 2004. Its latest rating valuation is $640,000.
523/35 Hobson St. The Heritage building. A 52sq m one bedroom apartment that is not part of the hotel pool. There were multiple bidders for this property and it sold under the hammer for $226,000. According to QV.co.nz the unit was last sold for $250,000 in 2006. Its latest rating valuation is $240,000. Rates were $1174 and the body corporate levy $7000.
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2 Comments
They are not houses, they are appartments. Different market like a 4WD is to a sports car. Not to many people want to live in one of these as there only option. After paying off the house I would look at an appartment as purely a crash pad. especially if I worked in the CBD it would be a massive time saver with the nighmare traffic. Also check out those body corp costs, pretty horrific even when your not paying the mortgage on it.
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