Bayleys sells 24 of 34 auction properties in Auckland and Hamilton

Property

Bayleys auction prices started at $175,000 for a three bedroom house on a large section near Matamata

9th Apr 16, 6:02am by Greg Ninness

Bayleys sold 21 of their 29 Auckland auction properties this week, and in Hamilton three of the five auction properties were sold.

Highlights of the Auckland auctions included a Devonport villa that sold for $2.3 million, a Freemans Bay house that sold for $2.69 million and a 1960s, two bedroom brick and tile home unit in St Heliers that fetched $790,000.

At the Hamilton auction, a two bedroom house that was described as needing some TLC (pictured), on a 1012 square metre section at Waharoa near Matamata sold for $175,000, while the auction of three lifestyle blocks near Cambridge was postponed for three weeks.

See below for the full results of Bayleys auctions in Auckland and Hamilton this week, with details and photos of all properties including those that didn't sell:

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126 Comments

by doublegz | 9th Apr 16, 7:55am 1460145332

24a Manawa Rd sold for 56% over CV i.e. $2.124m vs $1.36m. This may not seem like a high-end price in DGZ but I can assure you that it is a fine old price considering it's only a cross-leased 3-beddy brick and tile.

This has pretty much confirmed to me that the market is back in full force! So many serious buyers out there who are under-bidders. I have witnessed this myself in 3x separate auction rooms this week. Young couples are not scared to engage themselves in bidding frenzy pushing up their bids to well over $2m but still came out empty handed.

Sold signs left right and centre in DGZ - you will know this is true if you live in the area, driving around, seeing the green, yellow & red sold signs smiling at you in every corner. Best time to sell is NOW.

by Zachary Smith | 9th Apr 16, 7:57am 1460145442

Manawa Road house sold in March 2011 for $937,500. That TradeMe app is great...the power of the Internet! It has had some major renovation work done on it though. It would be interesting to know how much that cost..200K ? Would likely have fetched 1.8M without renovation.

https://www.bayleys.co.nz/Listing/Auckland/Auckland-City/Remuera/1750736

Good quality stand alone houses, preferably with nothing shared, are going to increase in value in Auckland. That's been the case in Canada.

by doublegz | 9th Apr 16, 8:07am 1460146060

The so called "major renovation work" is nothing more than a minor decoration work including a lick of fresh paint, plus a new big paved patio all the way to the fence-line. Still single level and no upstairs added.

by Zachary Smith | 9th Apr 16, 8:08am 1460146137

Yeah but I got a quote for a small bathroom renovation and it was 30K.
I think a lot of people who complain about the high cost of houses forget how much things cost. A new bathroom and kitchen can easily set you back 60K. I wouldn't be surprised if that lick of paint cost 100K+. Check the photos on the link above. Perhaps an expert in tarting up houses could advise us? it's never really been my thing.
Nicely staged that house.

by doublegz | 9th Apr 16, 8:14am 1460146447

I'd be surprised if it cost them more than $100k. Photos can be tweaked to make them look amazing....I know too well, but in this case I actually attended the open home a few weeks ago so I have some idea.

Also a cross-leased 80's townhouse with 1/3 share of 1000sqm land at 3/266 Victoria Ave sold for $1.91m at auction 3 nights ago. CV is $1.3m so still a cool 47% over CV. House is in need of refurbishment with rotten carpet, old cabinetry in the kitchen and old paint.

by Zachary Smith | 9th Apr 16, 8:24am 1460147041

From the satellite it looks like it is semi-detached too. Also sharing a driveway. Nice area though if a bit congested in rush hour.

by doublegz | 9th Apr 16, 8:30am 1460147455

It's actually stand-alone :-)

Yes, with Baradene College of the Sacred Heart and Vicky Ave Primary so close, plus St Kentigern Boys down the road...it's a bit of a nightmare at 8am and 3pm Mon-Fri, especially corner Victoria/Shore Rd. However, you do get accustomed to it after living here for a while :-)

by Zachary Smith | 9th Apr 16, 8:33am 1460147611

Is this it?
http://rwkohimarama.co.nz/auckland-city/remuera/1439458/
Because the frontal photo, top right, looks like another house joined to it. Also earth-view shows three houses almost touching if not touching.

by doublegz | 9th Apr 16, 8:40am 1460148012

That's it. Yes the earth-view is misleading as the site is elevated down from the main street (the entire Vicky Ave is abit like that). They are actually all stand-alone townhouses but very close to each other.

by Animal Lover | 9th Apr 16, 7:29pm 1460186954

A crap house on a crap section. Only $1.91m. This is so out of wack, it is scary.

by CJ099 | 9th Apr 16, 8:56am 1460149013

Which TradeMe app is that Zachary pray tell? The only one that I can see just shows some random QV info or CV and doesn't actually tell you the previous sold price on an address, or is there another tab some where that provides the sold price info on an address?

And can you post us a link as we would all like to see it.

by doublegz | 9th Apr 16, 8:58am 1460149126

Oh dear...I'm surprised people still don't know how to get previous sales stats *ahem* They are all free and have been for quite a number of years. The latest tool is https://homes.co.nz/ - Enjoy!

by Zachary Smith | 9th Apr 16, 9:10am 1460149852

I typed the address 24a Manawa Rd which it found but gave no results :-(
TradeMe App wins!
Or am I using it wrong?

by doublegz | 9th Apr 16, 9:15am 1460150137

Yeah there are flaws for certain addresses. I don't use it coz I am subscribed to PG :-)

by CJ099 | 9th Apr 16, 10:07am 1460153274

Thanks for the link doublegz and Zachary, the only more obvious site that provide the sold price info is QV but you generally have to pay for that info which is annoying.

Shame that Trademe can't make the property sales info more obvious, since it would really help FTB etc.. Allowing people to estimate the value of property improvements when there's an opportunity to negotiate on a purchase price.

by Carlos67 | 11th Apr 16, 10:38am 1460327922

Nice that site just valued my house at $900K. Probably not that far off the mark but was thinking more like $800K, the market has gone nuts. Still I have to laugh, couldn't get a flatmate once as Long Bay was claimed to be "Too far out", how things have changed. Hard to fault being able to walk to the best beach on the North Shore.

by Zachary Smith | 9th Apr 16, 9:07am 1460149673

I use the TradeMe property App for Apple iOS. I think it only works as a mobile device/tablet App.
http://www.trademe.co.nz/mobile/trade-me-property-ios-app/
There is an android one too. An iPad is perfect for viewing and on the main page, top left corner, you will see three tabs, For Sale, To Rent and Sold. Sold is the one you want to find out recent sales figures. Beats paying QV five bucks!

by gordon | 9th Apr 16, 9:41am 1460151682

Why are people selling? Won't they keep going up.

by doublegz | 9th Apr 16, 9:59am 1460152788

Various reasons...people going through divorce, looking to upgrade/downgrade, trying to get into certain school zones, baby-boomers seeking peace & quiet etc. When you think about it, they're all pretty common really.

by Zachary Smith | 9th Apr 16, 10:43am 1460155418

Someone with a high value rental in central Auckland may think it better to sell and get two or three rentals in West Auckland.

by SpaceX | 9th Apr 16, 8:11am 1460146262

YAY! Let's celebrate prices going up and making life harder for New Zealanders!!! Time to party like it's 1999!!!!

by doublegz | 9th Apr 16, 8:21am 1460146915

Was going to say let's party Gangnam Style but since it's 1999, I think "Shake Your Bon-Bon" by Ricky Martin is more appropriate :-P

"...making life harder for New Zealanders" - Actually all the successful buyers are indeed New Zealanders. I think what you're trying to say is "...making life harder for me".

by Zachary Smith | 9th Apr 16, 8:29am 1460147352

I like to think we are simply reporting the latest news. We have a financial interest it is true but if we didn't we wouldn't be reporting in and these comments are directly related to the article so very on topic. Too often, perhaps, we descend into political/social-justice bickering.
However SpaceX you do remind me of when I was younger. You need to look out for yourself and I am sure you will do alright.

by doublegz | 9th Apr 16, 8:55am 1460148901

Maybe Space-X is trying to set foot in DGZ so it is substantially harder for him? I think he should be looking at Pt Chev or even Te Atatu Peninsula as a FHB? Not too sure about the market there...

by Zachary Smith | 9th Apr 16, 9:01am 1460149285

I think the Te Atatu area is a good place to start with the new motorway infrastructure being built. I started in the poor part of Glendene.

by CJ099 | 9th Apr 16, 9:21am 1460150507

I'd recommend any FTB especially if you have small children as they have excellent schools out there, to look at Titirangi, Laingholm, Parau and Huia. Still within commutable distance to the CBD and less traffic than most areas and with relatively affordable property within safe communities.

by doublegz | 9th Apr 16, 10:01am 1460152871

West is best for FHB's I agree :-)

by SpaceX | 9th Apr 16, 10:02am 1460152925

Nope, would never want to live in that pretentious shithole.

by doublegz | 9th Apr 16, 10:06am 1460153202

Oh good, 1 less competitor for the aspiring bidders :-P

by Carlos67 | 11th Apr 16, 10:45am 1460328344

You need to be a certain type of person to live in Remuera and Epsom, personally the people I have met from these areas generally make me want to puke. I'm not saying I like South Auckland and I really don't like West Auckland either but something middle of the road with normal people is nice.

by doublegz | 11th Apr 16, 10:55am 1460328925

Stick with your Long Bay and don't cross the Harbour Bridge yuck

by O.Farr-Kinnell | 11th Apr 16, 11:22am 1460330533

Grew up in Remuera and had the best of times 'til I left in very early '70s. Now when I drive through, it conjures up images of what a medieval circus or freak show may have looked like. (Been rural living ever since).

by doublegz | 11th Apr 16, 11:41am 1460331693

Now you turn your back and laugh at the place you grew up in, that says it all about your loyalty and what kind of a person you are.

by frazz | 9th Apr 16, 9:21am 1460150478

Have you two thought of starting your own website? Add some Ricky Martin tracks the background and free oil to slather those large egos.

by SpaceX | 9th Apr 16, 10:07am 1460153224

Thanks. Yeah, I am smart as, good looking and ambitious. Working towards doing my CA then will be starting my own business or possibly concurrently. And if I don't get a property soon, then it's probably time to get out of this country. Keep the dole bludgers and lazy people, replace me with 3 immigrants.

I will be voting for NZ First or whoever promises to stop the cancer.

by Penguin | 9th Apr 16, 8:56am 1460148962

There is actually good news on the horizon for honest New Zealanders.
I was speaking to a senior guy in finance last night and he had some interesting things to say.
He said there is a global summit in the UK next month on Money Laundering. It is being headed by David Cameron.
The key facts that came out of the conversation was that
-there is is to be a global crackdown on money laundering
-the main focus will be on Offshore Trusts and those in particular controlled by Politically Exposed People
-Offshore Trusts will effective become a thing of the past as full underlying exposure will be required.
-there will be a global initiative to freeze and seize the assets of the dodgy assets.

He said he expects buying of property by offshore trusts to dry up.

He said although JK will be a laggard in addressing the issue he will have no option but to toe the line.

by Kakapo | 9th Apr 16, 9:53am 1460152393

Headed by David Cameron? Fox, here is the key to the henhouse.

by SpaceX | 9th Apr 16, 10:07am 1460153279

I would like this to be good news, but the truth is nothing will change. We all knew what was happening last election, and yet people were still happy to vote for the liar. Sometimes I hate this country.

by Clarence68 | 9th Apr 16, 12:04pm 1460160278

Is it big enough to be the big event everyone is so petrified of?

by bigbunny | 9th Apr 16, 10:33am 1460154817

I can hear the champagne corks popping, or is that the bubble?

by gordon | 9th Apr 16, 11:02am 1460156528

Yes us baby boomers are certainly shafting X and Y. That means X and Y have to have to a good strategy and save very hard for a house deposit. Not easy when you have such an urge to travel and live well.

by frazz | 9th Apr 16, 11:22am 1460157753

Yes living well is only for the boomers they deserve after slogging their youth to buy a house 3x their wages. X and Y should feel gratefull for the wonderfull world the boomers inherited and have improved.

by gordon | 9th Apr 16, 11:39am 1460158758

Thanks Frazz.It was hard growing up as a boomer. No car, no cell phone, minimal clothes and sports gear, limited eating out opportunities,limited travel prospects etc etc. As a result we built up a house deposit fairly quickly as nothing to spend it on. As I said you need a clear strategy and a lot of discipline. Not many in X and Y have the latter when it comes to saving. Must have that OE and then get upset when they come home and cannot live like mummy and daddy.

by frazz | 9th Apr 16, 12:05pm 1460160310

Sounds horrific Gordon your early days. So glad you manged to come through it unscathed with free education and are living well now.

by gordon | 9th Apr 16, 4:09pm 1460174990

I paid fees Frazz and worked all summer to help fund the next year. No car and certainly no overseas trips unlike X and Y.

by CJ099 | 9th Apr 16, 9:29am 1460150959

@ Penguin; Wonderful! I really hope that actually has an effect, though if it does you might see a bit chunk of Auckland's housing being seized as dodgy assets. Could be a good thing as it would free up a lot of those land banked and empty homes scattered around the more expensive areas.

by doublegz | 9th Apr 16, 9:42am 1460151728

Not a bad idea. It really does frustrate me when I drive past those ghost houses...you can sort of tell at night time when there's no light in the house. Quite a few of those in DGZ I must admit, just facts nothing more.

by SpaceX | 9th Apr 16, 10:10am 1460153405

Here's an idea I have advocated many times and you seem like the perfect person to do it since you are so obsessed with attending auctions and keep track of sales. This applies to ZS too. Make a website which has a database comprising of all sales, and whether the houses become tenanted/occupied or left empty. Keep track of the buyers with all 'relevant' information. I believe someone did this in Vancouver.

by frazz | 9th Apr 16, 10:47am 1460155663

Great idea SX they obviously have the time and nous. Little bit more work however than raising ones hand at an auction to outbid FHB. Will see if the rubber hits the road.

by Zachary Smith | 9th Apr 16, 2:41pm 1460169680

Don't forget to check out my analysis of the apartment auctions. I was up at 5am this morning working it all out.
http://www.interest.co.nz/property/80962/there-was-plenty-competitive-b…

by doublegz | 9th Apr 16, 2:53pm 1460170434

OMG ZS look at what they say about us! Just got back from a few Open Homes and I'm pleased to report that each of them is buzzing with viewers, even the plaster ones!

by Zachary Smith | 9th Apr 16, 2:57pm 1460170669

I know right? Anyone would think the topic of this web article and comment thread wasn't about house sales.
I am currently waiting to hear the results of an auction in Te Atatu. Maybe we are obsessed?

by doublegz | 9th Apr 16, 3:25pm 1460172354

I'll call it a hobby rather than obsession :-P

by positivelywallstreet | 9th Apr 16, 3:27pm 1460172421

Schizophrenia is entirely understandable and nothing to be concerned about.
Debord suggested its a logical outcome for a capitalist society in its declining phase.
He was a good man Debord, but complex..

by Zachary Smith | 9th Apr 16, 4:15pm 1460175301

Which one is Dr Jekyll and which one is Mr Hide?

by buzby | 9th Apr 16, 9:42pm 1460194941

Spelling Zachary spelling. It's Mr Hyde or was Mr Hide some kind of clever play on words and I am being the slow one?

by positivelywallstreet | 9th Apr 16, 9:54pm 1460195678

I was a bit amused by that myself, the 1 Gb/sec robot isnt too good on spelling.
Mind you, i have to fix mine in a hurry myself
Its the modern way..

by Zachary Smith | 10th Apr 16, 5:30am 1460223029

Doh! This is what happens when you overclock the CPU. Someone really needs to develop a spell-checker with advanced A.I.

by doublegz | 9th Apr 16, 3:37pm 1460173051

12 Anglesea St, Ponsonby just sold under the hammer for $3,100,000 today! Wow~
https://www.barfoot.co.nz/567447

by Zachary Smith | 9th Apr 16, 4:10pm 1460175056

Yikes that's $1,310,000 over CV.
The auction I was observing, as a relative has a house next door, was CV of 790K and sold today for 1,220K.
Just an ordinary place in Te Atatu Peninsula but a full section:
http://rwteatatu.co.nz/waitakere-city/te-atatu-peninsula/1435443/

by doublegz | 9th Apr 16, 4:31pm 1460176299

Wow for a full site $1.2m is definitely a bargain even for TAP #GoodBuy

by gordon | 9th Apr 16, 4:42pm 1460176931

Zach do you have a life outside property obsession. I feel so sorry for you. A wonderful old friend once said to me, "life is all about people not things." Are you married and have children? Sometimes I wonder whether you are just a machine as you are on here so often.

by Zachary Smith | 9th Apr 16, 5:48pm 1460180932

Your wonderful old friend probably said that before the Internet really took off. I've just done a quick count and we have 26 Internet connected devices. I'm kind of permanently plugged into the matrix, a computer-human hybrid. My wife and children are all plugged in too - thank goodness for unlimited Ultra Fibre 100.

by doublegz | 9th Apr 16, 6:17pm 1460182635

:-)

by Zachary Smith | 9th Apr 16, 8:22pm 1460190169

That's not fair!

by doublegz | 9th Apr 16, 6:07pm 1460182039

*Nod*

by Zachary Smith | 9th Apr 16, 6:08pm 1460182127

More than 26 active devices?

by doublegz | 9th Apr 16, 7:54pm 1460188448

Haha nope not really. I probably don't need it. Am thinking of switching soon so that I don't waste so much money unnecessarily, not even tax free CG can justify :-p

by Zachary Smith | 9th Apr 16, 6:23pm 1460182982

Yes it probably is over-kill but damn impressive. I didn't even know it was available locally. Just for bragging rights it may be worth paying the extra for. Also virtual reality headsets should work well with it.

by doublegz | 9th Apr 16, 6:27pm 1460183245

Not publicly available.

by buzby | 10th Apr 16, 7:33am 1460230426

You guys are actually very funny. We will miss you when the correction eventually comes. Out of interest will you be advising interested parties when to sell?

by Zachary Smith | 10th Apr 16, 8:13am 1460232814

I think doublegz has already advised that now is a good time to sell if you are pondering selling. Our observations have shown that it is easy to sell in the current market, especially in Central, South and West Auckland. I'm sounding like Gin's The Price Prophet again!
If a correction came I would advise not selling but hanging on, which is a Trump strategy. If you can just idle along, hang on in there.

I have been overly active here at Interest only because the doomsters were claiming the decline had arrived however that was at odds with what I was seeing. I bought a two bedroom unit in Central Auckland in December and was feeling a bit sensitive about prices. Incidentally I am not a rapacious Landlord and have tended to end up as one accidentally, the last purchase done in order to keep a roof over an older couple's head when their Landlord had decided to sell. Earlier purchases were made simply to make moving house as stress free as possible after suffering acute stress when placed in a position where it was vital to sell on auction day. I even offered to sell a property to a long term tenant at a discounted price but was turned down which was unfortunate because the new owner has a property that has appreciated 250K in the last three years.

by doublegz | 10th Apr 16, 5:46pm 1460267185

This has made the Herald news: Inside the hovel that sold for $3.1 million

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=116…

by bigblue | 10th Apr 16, 8:42pm 1460277722

No good school zones in Freemans Bay

by doublegz | 10th Apr 16, 9:23pm 1460280223

Can always go private. St Kent isn't too bad...they even have musical production such as Sweeney Todd to wow the nation.

by Penguin | 9th Apr 16, 7:13pm 1460186025

Following on from what I was saying this morning others are saying the days of Offshore Trusts are over.
Article also says NZ Goverment is investigating NZ residents who have foreign trusts.

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/panama-papers-why-mossack-fonseca-leak-could-s…

These articles have a familiar ring to them!

http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/the-panama-papers-expose-how-the-gl…

http://atimes.com/2016/04/panama-papers-shine-light-on-australias-shady…

by blue meanie | 10th Apr 16, 10:39am 1460241564

Ya"all do know doublegz and Zachary Quack are the same person don't you? So effectively 90% of the comment thread, is written by one man. Good grief! And frazz, don't engage gordon, he is as self entitled as doublezach... Come to think about, it all three could be one and the same.

by gordon | 10th Apr 16, 12:35pm 1460248533

I am not self entitled like the person behind ZS and DZ. I am not a landlord as I only hold properties for my children and my wife and I to live in. I worked hard for 30 years and retired at 58. I live off dividends from public and private companies. I did not travel until I was 42. Through my children I know large numbers off X And Y. Unlike myself they are vastly travelled at a young age. I see very little saving going on for the first home deposit. I do admit the boomers whom I dealt with as a professional have been very lucky. They were able to leverage off their homes and buy rentals when they were cheap. Of course many have bought far more than they need to live off which has contributed to housing price increases. I myself admit I have been lucky as to when I was born. It was easy to save a deposit for the first home as we had very little to spend money on. Today there is much more to spend savings on especially the travel industry which loves taking money out of our pockets. X and Y need to be stronger in terms of saving than they currently are.

by doublegz | 10th Apr 16, 12:41pm 1460248883

It's DGZ thank you.

by Zachary Smith | 10th Apr 16, 12:52pm 1460249544

I prefer to be called Dr Smith.

by blue meanie | 10th Apr 16, 6:21pm 1460269292

Actually that's quite funny... :)

by scarfie | 10th Apr 16, 2:03pm 1460253811

Yeah, and when in the zoo you don't feed the animals.

by doublegz | 10th Apr 16, 2:14pm 1460254464

Only one word that jumps out from today's open homes: "Chinese" :-)

by Zachary Smith | 10th Apr 16, 4:27pm 1460262423

The Chinese community are very much into speculating on the full sections as they believe with further migrant inflows zoning for in-filling will be relaxed in the future. It make sense to try and predict the future. Auckland is going to get another half a million people over the next ten years.

by rastus1 | 10th Apr 16, 9:01pm 1460278914

......half a million people...we should be shyyyyting ourselves at the shyyythole that will result. But no, blind acceptance that we will become as overcrowded, polluted and crime ridden as the rest of the world.

by blue meanie | 10th Apr 16, 10:39am 1460241599

Yip blue meanie, I think you are correct!

by buzby | 10th Apr 16, 11:21am 1460244094

A kind of over excited schitzophrenic agent investor double act. Terrifying.

by Kakapo | 10th Apr 16, 11:38am 1460245093

To be expected, though. Sites like this are always full of Walter Mitty fantasist pretend tycoons.

by positivelywallstreet | 10th Apr 16, 12:09pm 1460246959

As another symptom of our society I saw audience in Sydney clutching ipads pointed at Bob Dylan get enraged if those around them asked the devices be put away as the screens are quite a distraction.
This perfect consumer society is behaving in strange ways..again as Debord suggested..
I thought of those people as acting out the internet, blogs, facebook, twitter..the input/output interface for virtual reality
Calm down..back to the baking...

by billsay | 10th Apr 16, 1:20pm 1460251248

"There must be some way out of here," said the joker to the thief,
"There's too much confusion, I can't get no relief.
Businessmen, they drink my wine, plowmen dig my earth,
None of them along the line know what any of it is worth."

by positivelywallstreet | 10th Apr 16, 2:16pm 1460254611

I think Bob understood the big picture very early on

by billsay | 10th Apr 16, 2:22pm 1460254973

Indeed....

"No reason to get excited," the thief, he kindly spoke,
"There are many here among us who feel that life is but a joke.
But you and I, we've been through that, and this is not our fate,
So let us not talk falsely now, the hour is getting late."

by Zeds are Us | 10th Apr 16, 9:34pm 1460280870

Aren't those Jimi's lyrics? Also I'm thinking that (like Jimi) only the good die young...the old just invest in houses.

by bigbunny | 11th Apr 16, 1:25am 1460294710

"A hard rain's a gonna fall" and not just for the farmers.

by doublegz | 11th Apr 16, 6:27am 1460312833

The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain!

by Zachary Smith | 10th Apr 16, 4:22pm 1460262156

Gin - It's okay Dr Smith, rest easy, stop being obsessed and go outside and play. The market will look after itself and you cannot force it's hand one way or another.

Okaaay, now doublegz and I get a lot of flak for what you might describe as being too exuberant. We are the ones saying let the market look after itself.
So surely this advice should be directed at Gordon, exagent, SpaceX and the like.

by gordon | 10th Apr 16, 4:43pm 1460263405

Couldn't agree more. The market is looking after itself in Auckland. After a good run up it is correcting down as all markets do. In winter the correction down will accelerate.

by Zachary Smith | 10th Apr 16, 5:43pm 1460267029

And that was the gist of a lot of the discussion in March - was the market going down or going up in that particular month. It turned out it did go up in March which is what all the indicators were telling us and what we predicted. Now who knows what will happen for the rest of the year? We will have to wait and see.

by doublegz | 10th Apr 16, 6:02pm 1460268148

April property sales has started with a bang in Auckland from what I have observed. High-end properties are selling like hot cakes including this Ponsonby hovel that sold for $3.1m yesterday.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=116…

I'm pleased that the new owners (who are from Auckland, not China) planned to completely renovate the heritage-protected property before moving in with their family.

by Zachary Smith | 10th Apr 16, 6:22pm 1460269377

I see the 2014 'improvement value' is 60K. That price is really for the land alone. Freemans Bay full section #GoodBuy.

by gordon | 10th Apr 16, 6:27pm 1460269658

Are you talking about the B &T figures for March which showed the average price rising because they sold more higher priced houses than in February. Hardly reliable data. Let's wait for the REINZ data for March which is considered the most accurate data by parties such as the RB.

by doublegz | 10th Apr 16, 6:32pm 1460269940

If the 3 of us start posting at the same time and using the same hashtag, it is likely that we will be tagged the same person again.

by Zachary Smith | 10th Apr 16, 6:43pm 1460270599

I can't believe anyone would think gordon was us!
I guess only the site owners can dispel this vile rumor by declaring our comments come from different IP addresses. Even then it may not be certain as we are pretty clever.

by doublegz | 10th Apr 16, 6:47pm 1460270871

Yeah that's assuming we both use static ip.

by Zachary Smith | 10th Apr 16, 6:44pm 1460270646

The source was QV but we eagerly await the REINZ data. Quite good how you can compare months on this web page:

https://www.qv.co.nz/resources/monthly-residential-value-index

by Penguin | 10th Apr 16, 6:31pm 1460269882

The B&T auction at 10.30 on Wednesday only sold 6 out 15 properties so don't believe everything you read!

by doublegz | 10th Apr 16, 6:43pm 1460270616

Here's an insider info for you. 25 Ranui Road (a semi do-up) was passed in that morning and was sold within 24 hours for $2.72m, a cool 21% over CV of $2.25m. Also the owner only bought the property 4 years ago for $1.3m and pretty much did nothing to it.

I also believe the other ones that weren't sold under the hammer have all been sold post auction. You know what I say is true.

by Penguin | 10th Apr 16, 7:43pm 1460274217

Thanks for the info. Tends to back up the recent trends. Lower valued properties have been selling 30-40% above CV whilst more expensive ones are quite a bit less. Definitely weaker at top end than low end where people are buying up the rubbish. Around $1.8m seems a bit of a cut off point.
This is a similar trend to London. Top end very weak, bottom end strong.

http://www.standard.co.uk/business/fears-over-luxury-property-bubble-sp…

by doublegz | 10th Apr 16, 7:47pm 1460274468

I hardly call this high-end. I suppose it depends on where you live, $1.8m may not even be enough for a 2-bed townhouse with no garden in DGZ.

by Penguin | 10th Apr 16, 8:58pm 1460278696

I would think less than 10% of properties sell for >$1.8m and so it would come under high end to most people.

by Zachary Smith | 10th Apr 16, 8:10pm 1460275802

From the EveningStandard article, a couple of factors influencing prices:

Discounts are partly in response to a glut of new homes in Canary Wharf, with thousands under construction.
Investors are also being put-off by the new 3% additional stamp-duty rate on property bought as a second home or buy-to-let.

by Penguin | 10th Apr 16, 9:12pm 1460279555

True. My feeling is that we are entering a new phase globally in the housing market. Central governments have,for the last 15 years been very happy for property prices to run up as it has created very easy economic growth.
With generation rent growing by the day they have realised that they have serious issues in front of them. So what I think we will see is growing invention from them to control market using unconventional methods.
Using interest rates to control the property markets are a thing of the past. To use (put up)interest rates would be a tax on the poor.Top end/money laundered property doesn't need a mortgage.
The UK is case in point where they have forced the overseas money out of the market. They have done it by added taxes-stamp duty as well as additional charges on overseas investors. They have also attacked the laundered money in the central London property market with greater disclosure.

by CJ099 | 10th Apr 16, 7:16pm 1460272569

If you're referring to the one in Remuera I'd hardly call it a do up, needs a bit of modernising but other than that looks in fairly good condition. https://www.barfoot.co.nz/566479

I'd love to know what its value was 7 years ago and I'm sure there would be a considerable difference before all the Overseas investor madness took hold.

by doublegz | 10th Apr 16, 7:36pm 1460273780

The property has been hacked about and has no flow. A wall was removed willy-nilly and gawd knows when it was done. Also did you see the so called "4th bedroom" downstairs by the garage? This is clearly a 3 bedroom property! The only good things about the property are the views from upstairs and its affluent DGZ address *ahem*

by Zachary Smith | 10th Apr 16, 7:59pm 1460275153

That house went up in value over 26K a month, every month, for four and half years. Does seem a bit crazy.

by doublegz | 10th Apr 16, 8:00pm 1460275210

Thank you me :-P

by Ginnypops | 12th Apr 16, 9:22pm 1460452947

It's very easy to say let's look at the price from 7 years ago. Your frame of reference is totally different to what it was 7 years ago. 7 years ago prices in well heeled suburbs still seemed staggering. People say the same thing in every property cycle. 7 years from now we'll be saying the same thing about the average house in remmers for 1.8 mill

by CJ099 | 10th Apr 16, 8:37pm 1460277475

No not impressed until you can verify how much is was seven years ago. :P

by Groen_mamba | 11th Apr 16, 1:09pm 1460336948

Then you get comments like these justifying why it will be different this time:

http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/money/78674407/NZs-worst-property-buys-…

Goodall said it would be hard for the same thing to happen again because banks were now more particular about their lending. "It was too easy to get ridiculous amounts of money, that's not so likely any more."

Tuffley said much of the recent round of house price rises had been driven by increasing populations. "We are getting a bit of impact from investors looking elsewhere and buying into markets, putting pressure on but by and large what we are seeing is quite strong population growth. At this stage it doesn't look like anything problematic."

by Tui12 | 11th Apr 16, 7:18pm 1460359125

DGZ is a complete waste of money. I went to Grammar when it selected the best kids from all over auckland the high achievers. These days its full of foreign robots and underachieving rich kids. Same with EGGS. Much better to send your kids to Kents or St Cuths these days you get a far better education and property for the money.

by doublegz | 11th Apr 16, 7:23pm 1460359390

Never come back! That shows your loyalty to your old school. It's ugly.

by doublegz | 11th Apr 16, 7:23pm 1460359438

by Tui12 | 11th Apr 16, 8:04pm 1460361852

No ugly is what it and Auckland has become, don't worry I wont ever come back.

by Brendan | 11th Apr 16, 9:25pm 1460366728

Evidence suggest north shore is a battle field... Nile road auction, cv 870 sold for 1.56m. Crowd dominated with foreign faces, whether local or not. Happy hunting

by Ginnypops | 12th Apr 16, 9:26pm 1460453182

I think I know the one you mean. Full site and able to accommodate 3 subdivided sections under unitary plan. People are paying for land and the development potential.

by Ginnypops | 12th Apr 16, 9:13pm 1460452385

I'm an investor and so attend several auctions, opens and property viewings each week. I can't say Im surprised that property is moving and for record prices. I've been observing the activity for the past 3 weeks or so.

I'm in a buying phase at the moment and it is tough to secure a property. Missed out on at least 8 in the last fortnight. I am worried the they are getting more expensive by the day and am eager to get something locked in. I think that's what you call FOMO!

I do worry about the next generation and affordability, one reason I settled on property as my investment vehicle was that I'd have "homes" up my sleeve for my children, should they need a hand up.

I don't see the market cooling off in the next 18 months without some major global event, but I'm certain the cycles will continue as they have always done.

Still... I'm buying, actively