The Wellington house that "just had to go" has gone. The three-bedroom family home on Bank Road, in Northland, was snapped up for $312,000 at auction today.
And while the sale price was almost $400,000 below the property's RV of $710,000, it was still well above their declared reserve of $1.
The vendor had gambled that the ultra-low reserve would bring out the buyers after a failed first attempt to sell earlier this year.
Ray White listing agent Matt Ross said the owner was “incredibly relieved”.
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“He signed the reserve at $1 two-and-a-half weeks ago, and he was resigned to letting it go.”
The agent said the rental property needed a lot of work. Photo / Supplied
Ross said the seller’s expectation had literally been $1. “He said at $1 it just has to go. He couldn’t keep it, so $312,000 is just phenomenal.”
There were 22 registered bidders in the room who placed a total of 45 bids.
Ross said most of the interest came from builders and tradies. The new owner was a builder who planned to renovate the property and, depending on how it went, either keep it as a long-term investment property or sell it.
Ross said earlier this month that $1 reserve auctions, while common in Auckland, were unheard of in Wellington, and he believed that the sale of Bank Road was the first. "It's certainly unique. In the 10 years I've been doing real estate, I haven't seen a $1 reserve property in Wellington."
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He added today: “We had over 300 enquiries or more just through OneRoof. The amount of emails I’ve been responding to is ridiculous. Even this morning , I was responding to emails and sending off information packs and things like that.”
Ross told OneRoof ahead of the auction that the owner was selling because they were unable to bring the property up to spec. “They can’t hold it. They don’t want to become long-term landlords. They're very much focused on their family, and this is more of a hassle than an asset at this stage,” he said.
“They have had some problems, which we do note in the disclosures around the door frames and some windows. They've had to replace some framing, and they have had some issues internally.
“It certainly needs a paint job inside, new carpet, things like that, to bring it up to rental levels so it can be desirable to people as well.”
The property has an RV of over $700,000, but the agent said the vendors were willing to let it go for a lot less. Photo / Supplied
The vendor had already tried to sell the house at auction in May, but the property passed in auction with no bids when it appeared on the block at the end of last month.
“It didn’t sell. That was probably due to a lot of people looking at online websites and not realising how realistic the owners are about selling. Some of the websites say something like $700,000, which is nowhere near what they’re expecting," Ross said.
The 170sqm home has two bathrooms, a double garage with internal access, and sits on 235sqm of land near Wellington Botanic Garden. “The master bedroom benefits from an ensuite and walk-through wardrobe and is east-facing, with great morning sun. High floor-to-ceiling windows capture all that natural light,” Ross said.
“There are multiple decks and balconies. Two of the bedrooms have private balconies, and there’s also one off the lounge at the rear of the property.
“There’s a concrete yard, so there’s external space to spread out and enjoy. You’re a couple of minutes’ walk from Government Square, the Beehive, the Terrace, and all those government departments."
- Additional reporting by Diana Clement
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