An agent is claiming a record price for a do-up in a Grey Lynn street after the $1.92m sale of an 84sq m unrenovated two-bedroom dunger on 556sq m section.
Repeka Lelaulu of Barfoot & Thompson announced the sale of 9 Francis St, only 10 minutes from the CBD and surrounded by made-up extensively renovated homes valued in the $1.8m to $2m and $2.4m category.
With its tiled roof and small footprint on a relatively bare section in the tree-lined street between Warnock St and Old Mill Rd, she said the house went for $300,000 above a pre-auction offer.
It also went for just over $200,000 above its current rateable valuation of $1.7m. The house is valued by Auckland Council at a meagre $75,000.
One hopeful buyer offered $1.6m, Lelaulu said of the weatherboard house with its rusted-roof carport and flat un-landscaped turf section.
Property records show it being owned by Melehogofulu Pakatama and records no previous sales in the last few decades.
Economists have forecast three flat years in Auckland's property market is ending. On Tuesday, Barfoot & Thompson announced median sales prices from October to November shot up $47,000 and sales volumes were rising.
The Grey Lynn deal is being seen by those in the area as evidence of buyer confidence returning and
Fresh from success, Lelaulu has now dropped 'urgent properties needed' flyers in letterboxes.
She said the auction was brought forward to November 4 at the agency's Grey Lynn branch. Advertising described the home as a well-loved 1940s bungalow with a north-facing section. That offered an "incredibly rare opportunity" to realise a family vision in the suburb location.
The house has only one bathroom, one family room, a carport and a separate laundry.
The aerial shows the classic kiwi style a traditional rotary clothesline as one of the main garden features, along with the carport with a tarpaulin draped off the side.
In April, the Herald reported on a Grey Lynn villa sale price slashed $50,000. The character home was discounted to spark buyers.
An agent advertising 53 Williamson Ave as "price reduced" at $1,725,000, indicating it was originally listed for around $1.77m but an auction and around 70 viewers failed to draw buyers.
"Motivated vendor wants action," said Bayleys' Andre Bodde, adding that the place was just minutes to Ponsonby Rd, had the potential to add value in the future and was "gorgeous".
In March, Grey Lynn fell out of a list of the 10 Auckland suburbs with the highest total value in yearly house sales. Real Estate Institute of NZ figures show the suburb last year fell out of favour with buyers and sellers as it tumbled from the list of the top 10 suburbs.
Grey Lynn houses have a median $1.38m valuation, down 4.8 per cent with 171 sales in the last year to November, according to the OneRoof Property Report. Values are down 3.8 per cent in the last three years and the area's highest sale in the last year was for $3.5m.