Historic residential property sales trends in Auckland city’s western fringe continue to be completely re-written as a result of the Covid-19 economy according to latest marketing data compiled by a leading Ponsonby real estate professional.
Bayleys Ponsonby salesperson Blair Haddow said that traditionally over the past decades property listing volumes in and around Ponsonby, Herne Bay, St Marys Bay, and Grey Lynn, had slowed down in the lead up to Christmas with vendors preferring to personally focus on the festive season and ensuing New Year holiday period flowing through until after Waitangi Day and Auckland Anniversary Day in February.
“This year though, that trend has completely gone out the window,” said Blair Haddow, who has just taken on two new listings with instructions to sell before Christmas.
The first of Blair Haddow’s latest listings is 3/6 Curran Street, Herne Bay – a totally modernised and renovated three-level 1980s townhouse with three bedrooms/two bathrooms, a study nook, and decks offering magnificent views of the Waitemat-a Harbour. The property is going up for auction on December 9.
Meanwhile, the second trend-bucking property Blair Haddow is marketing for sale is a three bedroom, two bathroom villa at 71 Summer Street, Ponsonby. The home, which has a loft space primed for conversion into a new living area as well as a garage and adjacent off-street parking and a swimming pool, goes up for auction on December 15 unless it sells prior to an offer the owner is prepared to accept.
“It’s simply an indication of how ‘hot’ the market is at the moment,” said Blair. “The sales and listing stats simply speak for themselves. Well marketed and appropriately priced stock is literally flying out the door faster than we’ve ever seen before.”
Since the November edition of Ponsonby News, Blair Haddow’s sales sheet has further ballooned out to encompass:
• 25 Hackett Street, St Marys Bay. A completely transformed five bedroom, three bathroom home with three living areas and stunning views of Auckland’s CBD, Westhaven Marina, and the inner harbour, which sold for in the region of $6.4million.
77 Albany Road, Herne Bay. An architecturally re-imagined four bedroom villa on an avenue corner site with master suite, dual living areas, pool and outdoor entertaining area which sold prior to auction for $4.35million.
• 19 Chamberlain Street, Grey Lynn. A beautifully renovated two-level family dwelling with five double bedrooms, three bathrooms, and three living spaces, including a teenagers’ retreat, which sold under the auctioneer’s hammer for $3.55million.
• 20 Barrington Road, Grey Lynn. A sophisticated boutique townhouse with open plan living, supersized high spec kitchen, master suite, outdoor spaces with city and sunset views plus internal garage, which sold at auction recently for $2.09million.
• 16 Wellpark Avenue, Grey Lynn. A substantial remodeled four bedroom villa with open plan rear living hub flowing to covered deck, in-ground swimming pool and private back yard opening directly onto the little-known Francis Reserve. It sold at auction for $3.81million.
Blair said the frenetic activity being generated in the current wave of residential property sales across Ponsonby, Herne Bay, St Marys Bay, and Grey Lynn, took him back to 2003 when, as a novice property entrepreneur, he sold his own private ‘do-up project’ at 16 Sheehan Street for what was at the time Ponsonby’s first $million-plus villa renovation. He not only project managed the renovation, but worked extensively on the process, painting both the inside and exterior of the residence. Interestingly, the property last sold at the beginning of 2018 for $2.7million.
“It just goes to show that over the long-term - in this case 17 years – house prices in this area have always risen,” he said.
Blair forecasts that the pattern of historic real estate sales trends being ‘thrown out the window’ as a result of Covid-19’s impact on the economy will continue on into 2021.
“Traditionally, the property market is relatively passive through to the second week in February when the bulk of the population comes back from their beach or bach holidays,” he said.
“Next year, watch out for that time frame to come forward into the third week of January when pent-up purchaser demand will be anxious to kick the year off early in the hope of being ahead of the pack,” he added.