Ponsonby shack sells under the hammer for $1.1m

Peeling paint, ancient wallpaper and a tumbledown shed have not put off an Auckland buyer, who paid $1.1 million for a century-old Ponsonby shack.

The three-bedroom villa at 157 John St had been a treasured family home for decades before being put back on the market for the first time in 55 years.

After selling under the hammer today, the shack with its rusty roof and stains on the carpet is now likely to be renovated or knocked down in favour of a new build.

Sitting just metres from Richmond Rd, the home's value lies in its location.

Auckland Council had earlier valued the home at $1.55 million in 2017 - $1.45m for the land and just $100,000 for the house.

Despite selling in front of a full auction house, the home fell short of that value today.

Bids opened at $750,000, before six bidders drove the closing price up to $1.1m.

Selling agent Neil Bailey from Unlimited Potential was pleased with the price and interest from buyers.

The new owner is a Ponsonby local, he said.

"She believes in the area and loves the property - she probably drew confidence from seeing nine other serious buyers interested in it," he said.

Well-known Ponsonby developer Murphy McDade attended the auction but didn't raise his hand to bid.

He thought the home's buyer snagged a good price at $1.1m, however.

Previous part-owner Samuel Mackey Jnr earlier told the Herald how his parents Pore and Samuel Mackey Snr bought the home half a century ago.

Irish immigrant Samuel Snr had always proudly told his children how he borrowed £1200 off his lawyer to buy the place before he and Pore "worked their butts off and paid it off in a year", Mackey said.

The couple then raised six children in the home along with numerous nieces and nephews.

However, across town, the news was not as good for the owners of a second shack in Parnell.

The three-bedroom shack at 5 Laurie Ave was withdrawn from its planned auction today after all the interest from buyers was "conditional", selling agent Lisa Stone from Ray White said.

The home billed as the "original Parnell shack" by Ray White has been relisted for sale with a price tag of $2.29m.

Owen Vaughan, editor of property website OneRoof, said "do-up properties in high value suburbs" were attractive propositions and often grabbed the headlines.

"Who doesn't like reading about multi-million-dollar shacks?" he said.

"But developers will only take them on if they can make the numbers work. Difficult sections can push up building costs considerably."

Sitting on about 700sq m of land "on one of Parnell's best streets" in the Double Grammar Zone, the shack had earlier been valued by Auckland Council at $2.1m in 2017.

The two-storey bungalow owned by the same family for 49 years also features peeling paint and stains and will need to be renovated or demolished in favour of a new build.