– An Auckland family sold their rebuilt Remuera home for over $4m after a fire.
– 13 bidders competed at auction, the winning couple having searched for two years.
– The house attracted over 100 buyer groups during the three-week campaign.
An Auckland family got more than $4 million for their home a year after an electrical fire derailed their house sale plans.
Ray White Remuera agent John Lantz told OneRoof that the vendors had to rebuild their four-bedroom 1920s bungalow on Pukeora Avenue, in Remuera, because of fire damage.
The fire had broken out in a cupboard under the stairs three days before the owners were due to take the house to market.
Lantz said the rebuild did the trick, with 13 bidders fighting over the house at auction earlier this month.
The house was rebuilt, with some of the character features from the original 1920s retained. Photo / Supplied
The pool underwent refurbishment too, including new surfacing, pumps, and filtration. Photo / Supplied
“The winning couple had been looking for the past two years and had missed out on other properties, so they weren’t going to miss out again,” he said.
Over 100 groups of buyers had looked at the property over three weeks of open homes. Lantz told OneRoof that most people who saw the home realised that the property was worth much more than its RV of $2.825m.
“Most of the feedback was in the $3.5m-plus price range. These were educated buyers who knew the market,” he said.
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“But the 12 people who registered for the auction and missed out – there’s nothing for them, unfortunately.”
Lantz said many would-be vendors in his patch were waiting until spring to list. “It is very frustrating from my end. I am saying, ‘I’ve got people here, why wouldn’t you put your house on the market now?’.”
He added: “If you wait until October, then you are going to be one of many as everyone comes on the market at the same time, and then the buyer pool gets divided.”
The four-bedroom house, which had been in the same family for 50 years, got a new kitchen, new appliances, electrical and security systems. Photo / Supplied
Buyers were drawn to the fact that there was no work to do on the property. Photo / Supplied
Lantz said the Pukeora Avenue house had been owned by the same family for 50 years, with one of the vendors buying it from his parents in 2014.
He said they had mixed feelings about the sale, but they had bought elsewhere and were moving on. “There were a few tears shed saying goodbye; definitely mixed emotions. It had been their house, their kids’ Nana and Poppa’s house, so they were sad to see it go.
“But they are so pleased to see a family come in to love it as much as they have. They move in this weekend.”
He said the vendors had to strip the house down to the studs after the fire. The rebuild involved rewriting the house and installing new central heating, security systems, light fixtures, and replacing the bathroom and kitchen fittings. Even the pool got a new pump and filtration system.
“Luckily, the fire was contained to the cupboard and stairs, but the house was filled with smoke,” he said.
“It was virtually a brand-new home by the time they finished. Just the leadlights and the original windows and doors stayed the same.”