This Papatoetoe home sold at auction yesterday for $1m less than was paid for it in December 2021. Photo / Supplied
This Papatoetoe home sold at auction yesterday for $1m less than was paid for it in December 2021. Photo / Supplied
The owners of a South Auckland home have been hit with a million-dollar loss after reselling their house just one year after buying it in a further sign of how far Auckland house prices continue to fall.
The owners paid $2.3 million for the St George St home in Papatoetoein December 2021 but yesterday resold it at auction for $1.305m.
The Herald understands the grim sale is related to personal issues rather than pressure from the falling housing market.
The Herald is unsure why the owners paid $2.3m for the house in 2021 when its council valuation was $1.425m at the time.
A real estate agent connected with the recent sale said they could not comment.
The home’s most recent Barfoot & Thompson marketing material said it was a “winner takes all - urgent sale” situation.
“Our vendor’s circumstances dictate that this beautiful family home is now on the market and make no mistake it WILL sell on, or before, the Auction Day. Get in quick to make the most of the short auction campaign - this is a one-off opportunity to pick up a much-admired home,” it stated.
The home features four bedrooms, three bathrooms, a sleepout, two lounges and a large kitchen.
It also sits on an 860sq m block, potentially opening it up for future development.
Yesterday’s auction at Barfoot & Thompson stretched for about 45 minutes, rising from an opening bid of $1m in mostly small steps to its final sale price of $1.305m.
It took close to a minute and a half at the start of the auction before any opening bid was made for the home.
That slow pace was in stark contrast to the ferocious opening bidding for the St George St home at its previous auction on December 1, 2021.
On that occasion, the opening $1.2m bid was made before the auctioneer even finished describing the house.
Then - when the auctioneer rejected $1.2m as too low a starting bid - a $2m bid was made just seconds later.
Video stream of yesterday’s auction:
Video stream of previous auction on December 1, 2021:
Yesterday’s sale of the home was one of two made during the 1pm Barfoot & Thompson auction session. Three other houses were passed in.
The other home that sold was on Cornwall Rd in Papatoetoe and fetched $835,000, which was $15,000 below its $850,000 CV.
It comes as Auckland’s median sales price hit $940,000 this month, down 21.7 per cent on the same time last year, according to the Real Estate Institute’s January report.
Jen Baird, institute chief executive, said January was always slow because people are holidaying, but this January was much worse than usual.
“January is traditionally a slower month as sellers and buyers are on holiday. This month is no exception, although intensified in Auckland by relatively poor weather, with the least number of sales since records began,” she said.
The home has two lounges and comes on an 860sq m block. Photo / Supplied
It also has a lovely kitchen. Photo / Supplied
Only 2759 NZ homes were sold last month and just 943 in Auckland.
National sales dipping below 3000 deals was something to note, Baird said.
Nationally, the median national sale price fell 13.3 per cent annually to $762,500 and decreased 9.3 per cent for New Zealand, excluding Auckland, to $679,000.
Wellington, Auckland, Northland and Bay of Plenty had the largest drop in the median sale price, down 16.4 per cent, 21.7 per cent, 16.6 per cent and 18.8 per cent respectively.
The Reinz House Price Index, designed as a more comprehensive measure of house values, also fell 13.9 per cent.
Baird cited rising interest rates, problems getting finance, commentary around a looming recession and the election as reasons for buyers’ slow decision-making moves.
