NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather forecasts

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
    • The Great NZ Road Trip
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
    • Cooking the Books
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • What the Actual
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

Sold four times in 13 weeks - price jumps $153,000

By Lane Nichols
Reporter & Deputy Head of News·NZ Herald·
24 Aug, 2015 04:23 AM5 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

The West Auckland home has been empty since Sue Walker, who bought it for $291,500 in 2012, moved out on July 10 this year.

The West Auckland home has been empty since Sue Walker, who bought it for $291,500 in 2012, moved out on July 10 this year.

House sells four times in three months — price jumps $153,000.

An Auckland property agent is the latest beneficiary of a series of sales of a modest West Auckland house which has rocketed in price by $153,000 in 13 weeks.

Barfoot and Thompson managing director Peter Thompson says he understands the three-bedroom home was sold at the weekend for a negotiated price of $628,000.

That makes it the fourth time the property - which has a CV of $340,000 and was listed by his company just last week - has changed hands since late May.

Mr Thompson said the sale had yet to go through his company's system, but he confirmed that the vendor was a member of its sales force.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

That was "a hundred per cent disclosed" to the latest buyer, he assured the Herald this afternoon.

"My understanding is that the person who sold it is a member of our property staff," he said.

But Mr Thompson said that person had a genuine reason to sell the vacant property, in wanting to raise funds for a family member who had bought a larger home, in Epsom.

The property was staged for the latest sale, but potential buyers were turned away from a scheduled open home yesterday, after an unconditional offer was received for it.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

A woman who owned the house for three years before selling it on May 24 for $475,000 said earlier that the quick-fire action since it left her hands "beggars belief."

Sue Wilson paid $291,500 in 2012 for the property.

"I was horrified," she said of two subsequent sales, which rocketed the price to $559,000 on July 16, ahead of the latest deal.

"What annoyed me most as we're trying to get young people into houses and this sort of thing is going on with them bumping up the price."

Discover more

New Zealand

New claims in Ellis feud

22 Aug 05:54 AM
New Zealand

Housing crisis derails family plans

22 Aug 05:00 PM
Opinion

Herald on Sunday Editorial: House or baby? It's an unfair decision

22 Aug 05:00 PM
Opinion

Paul Little: Housing serpent swallowing itself

22 Aug 05:00 PM

Neighbours say the property has sat empty since July and no improvements have been made on the house except for professional staging.

The quick-fire sales - blamed on "changing vendor circumstances" - have renewed warnings rampant property speculation is shutting first-home buyers out of the market, sparking calls for a crackdown on speculators and ban on non-resident buyers.

CoreLogic data shows the 90sq m house was on-sold by new owner Xiaoli Zhen just two days after the July 10 settlement date for $522,500 - nearly $50,000 more than he paid to Mrs Wilson.

It was then sold again four days later by a trust for $559,000 before being relisted last week by Barfoot & Thompson.

Ray White agent Ronald Hachache sold the property last month on behalf of the initial purchaser, Mr Zhen. He said his client was not a speculator taking advantage of the market. He had bought it for his in-laws to live in but decided the area had too many state homes. "He just wanted to sell it and move on."

He added that desperate first-home buyers shut out of auctions because of due diligence costs were prepared to pay a premium for properties with listed asking prices to secure a starter home.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"There's a bit of desperation ... especially for that entry-level stock."

Mrs Wilson said she felt her initial $475,000 sale price was fair.

She realised Auckland house prices were on a steep trajectory but felt rapid sales of unoccupied homes with huge mark-ups meant young couples couldn't afford a first property. "No wonder people can't get in."

Neighbour Joanna Pou said no one had lived in the house since Mrs Wilson moved out on July 10 but the property kept going back on the market.

"They're all investors. It's just constantly being flicked over."

Labour's housing spokesman, Phil Twyford, said the Auckland housing market was "beyond a joke".

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"The market is gripped by rampant property speculation. Speculators are making a killing at the expense of Generation Rent."

A government-backed building programme was needed to increase the supply of homes, plus regulatory reform and a crackdown on speculators "including a ban on non-resident foreigners buying existing homes".

Capital gains

In May, the Government unveiled a new "bright line" test designed to force speculators who buy and sell investment properties within two years to pay tax on capital gains. The new rules will apply from October 1. They assume anyone buying and selling a property within two years, other than their residential home, is doing so for profit. Prime Minister John Key has said the measures do not amount to a capital gains tax but are simply a tougher enforcement of existing rules applying to income from property trading. QV says it has seen a jump in activity by investors trying to beat the October 1 deadline.

Going, going, gone ...

May 24: Sue Wilson sells her three-bedroom Henderson home at auction for $475,000.
July 12: Purchaser Xiaoli Zhen sells his new home for $522,500, only two days after settlement date.
July 16: A trust sells the property to a new purchaser for $559,000 - an overall capital gain of $84,000 in less than two months.
August 23: The staged, vacant property sells for an undisclosed price within a week of being relisted for the fourth time in three months.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Business

Premium
Business

AI is getting more powerful, but its hallucinations are getting worse

17 May 07:00 PM
Premium
Media Insider

'Good luck and good night': Top economics professor ends blog, says politicians have threatened his prospects

17 May 06:24 PM
Premium
Opinion

Liam Dann: ‘Perfect storm’ for flat whites - what surging food prices mean for the economy

17 May 05:00 PM

Deposit scheme reduces risk, boosts trust – General Finance

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Business

Premium
AI is getting more powerful, but its hallucinations are getting worse

AI is getting more powerful, but its hallucinations are getting worse

17 May 07:00 PM

New York Times: New wave of "reasoning" systems producing incorrect info more often.

Premium
'Good luck and good night': Top economics professor ends blog, says politicians have threatened his prospects

'Good luck and good night': Top economics professor ends blog, says politicians have threatened his prospects

17 May 06:24 PM
Premium
Liam Dann: ‘Perfect storm’ for flat whites - what surging food prices mean for the economy

Liam Dann: ‘Perfect storm’ for flat whites - what surging food prices mean for the economy

17 May 05:00 PM
Premium
Ryan Bridge: I hereby request a pay equity claim for NZ v Aus

Ryan Bridge: I hereby request a pay equity claim for NZ v Aus

17 May 05:00 PM
Gold demand soars amid global turmoil
sponsored

Gold demand soars amid global turmoil

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP