Heraldhomes editor Estelle Sarney looks back on properties for sale that have fascinated readers and made news.
Sometimes a house is remarkable not for how impressive it is, but for the demand it generates.
This sweet but humble brick and tile home hit the market just as first-home buyers and investors were clamouring for property in May.
Two committed vendors, 500 viewers, 18 auction-bidders and two tenacious first-home-buyers are proof of the power of supply and demand, plus winning marketing by an agent used to selling multimillion-dollar mansions in Remuera, Megan Jaffe.
The Ray White branch owner marketed this 96sq m home on its 599sq m site on behalf of vendors Bridget Ellis-Pegler, a scriptwriter, and Caroline Ducobu, a photographer for the Open2view real estate website, who works with Ms Jaffe on many of those mansion campaigns.
Some friends called the pair crazy eight years ago when they fell in love with the 1940s brick-and-tile house. "They thought we were moving to South Auckland," jokes Ms Ducobu, who says the term is a lazy description of a variety of suburbs.
"Onehunga is a fantastic, quiet neighbourhood full of people who have lived here forever and who are really friendly," says Ms Ellis-Pegler.
The simple but solid construction appealed and they also liked the position of the north-facing house on its section - a flat, 599sq m site.
Fast forward to 2009 and sales consultant Summer Sun, from Ray White's Mt Albert office, brought Dominic Yen and Lily Li into the mix ahead of the auction in May. They held off 18 bidders to buy at $471,000 - 27.3 per cent above the CV of $370,000.
"These vendors did everything right in a market where first-home buyers and investors are coming out and where, at this level of the market, there is a shortage of stock," says Ms Jaffe.
"They spent $8000 marketing this property, staging the interior and presenting the garden well."
Mr Yen and Ms Li bought their first home just two months after their wedding - it was the only house they saw that they both liked instantly.
"It was nice and bright and set up nicely," says Mr Yen. As for any stress, the auction was the easy part - "I just put up my hand. That's all."
