'Property prepared': OneRoof trumpets the power of stats. Video / One Roof
A luxury Waiheke property built by former All Black Marc Ellis has sold for close to $10 million - after earlier sitting unsold on the market for a year.
Its sale to an Auckland "eastern suburbs local" for "just under $10m" is expected to be finalised this week and came after the price had been slashed from expectations it could go for anything up to $15m.
The struggle to sell the clifftop home had been a reflection of a slowdown in the city's market, especially among multimillion-dollar properties.
The Government's ban on foreign property purchases had also stripped out 70 to 80 per cent of top-end home buyers from the market, its agent said.
The house, which has a CV of $6.9m, boasts views of the Auckland skyline and Motutapu, Rangitoto and Rakino islands. Photo / Supplied
Ellis and his ex-wife Agustina Mon had earlier sold the four-bedroom home with its stunning coastal views for $8.2 million in 2016 after their marriage ended.
When relisted by new owner and property tycoon Ted Manson in September, agent Michael Boulgaris said the home could sell for nearly twice the price. Improvements to the property meant it could be worth "downwards of $15 million", he said at the time.
Boulgaris said the $15 million figure was based on an old appraisal, and $12.5 million would probably have been more realistic a year ago.
In the last year, there had been "an adjustment" in the market and that was reflected in the reduced price of less than $10m.
Former All Black Marc Ellis and ex-wife Agustina Mon sold the house in 2016 for $8.2m after their marriage ended. New owner Ted Manson is now selling it. Photo / Supplied
This immediately generated strong interest with three potential buyers keen on the home before this week's sale was agreed, he said.
While there were a few factors in the slow sale and lower price, Boulgaris said the primary driver was the ban on non-resident purchases of existing property, which came into force in October.
"It wiped our market out," Boulgaris said.
"We've lost our buyers so it's slowed the process down. So the only way to tempt the buyers is to be a little bit more realistic with the price. What I'm seeing is every owner is adjusting by 10 per cent and it is selling within weeks."
Agustina Mon and Marc Ellis, pictured here in 2012, sold the Oneroa home in 2016 for $8.2m. Photo / Norrie Montgomery
A less competitive market meant potential buyers were no longer fearful that they would miss out: "That is why auctions aren't really working - because there's no fear factor."
Manson, who heads one of the country's largest property development companies, redecorated the home, added a helicopter pad, and did around $1 million in landscaping on the 15,100sq m property.
Real Estate Institute of NZ said earlier this month that fewer luxury properties were selling in Auckland, especially those worth more than $3m.
The ban on foreign property purchases, which exempts Australians and Singaporeans, was designed to create a more even playing field for New Zealanders wanting to buy a home. It has led to an estimated 80 per cent fall in the number of homes being bought by non-residents living overseas.
Real estate agent Michael Boulgaris. Photo / File
Statistics NZ data showed 0.6 per cent of homes went to non-residents in the first quarter of this year, down from a peak of 3.3 per cent in the March 2018 quarter.
