KEY POINTS:
Nine Auckland apartments go under the hammer at auction today.
City Sales will sell the units at Hopetoun Alpha on Beresford Square at 12.30pm.
Mike Richards, sales manager, said the units on offer included a two-bedroom Princes Wharf apartment and two Railway Campus units at Quay Park. Both are being auctioned with a nil reserve.
The Railway Campus block is being repaired but Richards said bidding last week for three other units there was strong. "All were marketed and sold with zero reserves. Prices achieved since the Auckland University management announced termination of their interest have been surprising as buyers realise they can now buy apartments with vacant possession.
"This is despite the ongoing remedial works now under way and restricted use until repairs are completed," he said.
Last month, Auckland University said it had cut all ties with the complex after finding out repairs would take much longer than expected.
Wayne Clark, the university's director of student administration, said he had abandoned any hope of students returning to the block and terminated the contract to lease the block.
Richards said four apartments in CityLife Auckland, the hotel complex at 171 Queen St, went unsold last week. All were leased to the hotel operator and all were studios. City Sales sold most of the other apartments offered at the auction last Wednesday, he said.
Martin Dunn, City Sales managing director, said his firm had captured half the market for apartment sales in Auckland's CBD and he predicted this share would increase because more money is going into marketing. He is also predicting a resurgence in apartment sales next year.
"The future is the brightest since we set up in 1997. I'm good at picking market sentiment. We're at the bottom of the market. Interest rates are plummeting and immigration will increase dramatically. Ex-pats - come home! It's OK now.
"There will be almost no new houses built over the next five years and definitely no new apartments. We are selling at under half replacement cost. Tax is going down," he said.
