The Gourley family paid $531,000 for their house, and hope doing it up will have scored them the winner's $100,000 bonus. Photo / Bradley AMbrose
The Gourley family paid $531,000 for their house, and hope doing it up will have scored them the winner's $100,000 bonus. Photo / Bradley AMbrose
Fingers crossed for day of reckoning in house renovations battle.
Stars of TV One's hit reality show Our First Home are set to cash in on Auckland's rampant property market. The three West Auckland houses, which have had 10 weeks of renovations, are about to go under the hammer over three successive nights.
The live auctions are screening tonight, tomorrow and Tuesday and the three families will pocket the post-auction profits. The winnings to be spent on a deposit for the children's first home.
The family that earns the biggest percentage price increase will win the show and take home an additional $100,000.
And contestants are confident the red-hot Auckland market will deliver substantial pay days. "It's definitely a seller's market and hopefully that will work in our favour," said Amy Kim from the Gourley family, whose Avondale pad is first to be auctioned.
"We are trying not to set our expectations too high but anything can happen on the night and things could go crazy. It will be nerve-racking."
Kim and her apprentice builder husband Matt have been flatting on Auckland's North Shore while saving a house deposit.
"With the speed the property prices are rising there is no way we could buy our own home a without the help of the show and our parents," she said.
"To even get a decent deposit from what is a very hot property market will be life-changing for us."
Team Gourley's three-bedroom house has a CV of $400,000. The CV for Team Schreuder's Titirangi cottage is $530,000 and the Wardlaws' do up in Te Atatu has a CV of $580,000.
A search of property records show the Gourleys paid $531,000 for their property, the Schreuders $480,000 and the Wardlaws $600,000.
The Our First Home families had $100,000 renovation budgets. The Wardlaws went $19,000 over budget, which will come out of any profits from their auction on Tuesday.
Son Tim believed gambling on high-end improvements will pay off.
"We have added real value to the house," he said. "The timing of the show is perfect because the market is so high and there is a good chance everyone will do well.
"We are last to auction and by then we will know what we have to beat, so it will be nailbiting."
The Schreuder family. Photo / Bradley Ambrose
David Whitburn, head of strategy at Fuzo Property and a landlord with an Auckland portfolio has toured each house. He believed only one of the
Our First Home
properties would nudge the $800,000 mark.
He estimated the Gourley house would sell for $695,000-$745,000.
"The house is on a busy road, has a shared driveway and is overlooked by five or six neighbours, which are all drawbacks."
He pegged the Schreuders' pad at $660,000-$710,000.
"It is a bit outside of Titirangi and the weakness is people would not want to commute to the CBD from there."
He said the Wardlaws' Te Atatu property also suffered from being on a busy road, but thought it would still fetch $785,000- $835,000.
"I think the Schreuders will be the overall winners," he added. "Partly because the winner is not found on absolute profit made, but on percentage gain made and they had the lowest purchase price."
Image 1 of 23: The Gourley's kitchen before renovation.
