Quick touchup on apartment pulls $28.9K profit

A 70sq m apartment on Auckland's Federal St was bought for $380,000 in February and sold, just two weeks later, for $435,000.

A lick of paint, some new carpet and Auckland's fizzing property market have increased an apartment's value by $55,000 in just two weeks.

A 70sq m apartment on Auckland's Federal St was bought for $380,000 in February and sold, just two weeks later, for $435,000 through Mark Barry and Ali Karambayev of Impression Real Estate.

After the cost of renovation, and the agency's commission, the Herald estimates the before-tax profit earned over two weeks would be about $28,900.

Barry said the kind of profit was not uncommon: "The market is just moving so fast."

On February 26, apartment 108/207 in the Federal Building was bought by Lomax Enterprises, a house construction, alteration, renovation or general repair business, owned by Suzanne Kidd.

Barry said it was then painted throughout, re-carpeted and some new furniture was added within two weeks.

Kidd could not be contacted by the Herald last night, but Barry said he guessed she'd have spent less than $10,000 on renovations, before it was put back on the market through the agency, whose commission was $16,100 inclusive of GST, and sold on March 10.

Image 1 of 7: Apartment 108/207 Federal Building

Barry said the agency had "four or five" buyers lined up before the property was even listed - showing a high demand for apartments in the city.

He said he knew of between six and 10 people that bought, renovated and sold on apartments at a profit for a living.

"They know what they're doing, and they take a bit of risk and they've had a lot of experience."

Two week turnaround:

February 26 - Purchase price: $380,000
Renovation costs: about $10,000
March 10 - Sold for: $435,000.
Real estate agency commission: $16,100
Profit (before tax): $28,900