Mini boom in pricey property

Hanene Street property. Photo / Supplied

High-end houses are big sellers, despite a depressed market.

Blue-chip property in some of Auckland's priciest areas is still top of the pops, despite the real estate market being in the national doldrums.

The mini-boom is happening in the waterfront areas of St Heliers, Orakei and Parnell with a glut of buyers looking for a house or empty section with a price tag between $1-4 million.

Last week a family emigrating from England paid $1.35 million for an empty 607sq m site on Hanene St overlooking St Heliers Bay - or $2250/sq m.

Two weeks ago, a four-bedroom house with ocean views on Cliff Rd, St Heliers, sold for $3.35 million at auction. And 3 Karori Cres in Orakei is expected to sell for at least $3.25 million.

Australian and Chinese buyers are active in the market at present. This contrasts with the national trend for all real estate, which has continued to be plagued by a sluggish market. Realestate.co.nz reported "significant levels" of unsold houses last month and Barfoot and Thompson's Auckland sales were the lowest in 20 months.

The Real Estate Institute said 4323 residential properties sold during September, less than half the number sold in September 2006 when the market was at the height of its boom.

But Bayleys agent Gary Wallace described Auckland's central eastern suburbs as basking in a "micro-climate".

"It doesn't matter what the market is doing in other parts of the country, good property is always in good demand. We're having a fantastic run," he said.

Ross Hawkins, the agent who sold the Hanene St address, said the section was due to be auctioned but was sold after the offer came in.

"It's one of New Zealand's most sought-after streets and there's no other section like it. There are hardly any vacant lots around."

The site was on the market last summer as a 2000sq m property with a large house. When offers failed to reach $10 million, the owners - a brother and sister who inherited the estate - split the property into three titles and kept two.

Around the corner on "millionaire row" Paritai Drive, rich-lister entrepreneur Gary Lane is selling a 1699sq m site, formerly his front lawn, for $6.8 million.

A five-bedroom house with half the amount of land, also on Paritai Drive, sold for $10.5 million last year.

Hawkins said vacant sites in prime locations were highly sought after, but rare. "Buyers at the luxury end are very particular about the layout and style of their houses. They don't want to pay for a house just to rip it down, but sometimes they will do just that."

Agent Graham Wall said prospective buyers of a $4m waterfront address at Herne Bay's Marine Parade were looking at knocking down the existing house. "There's no money to be made from doing that; people just do it for themselves."