An apartment on Princes Wharf sells for $110k, buyers wary of leaky buildings but not so worried about seismic ratings at latest apartment auction

There was a bit of everything at City Sales first Auckland apartment auction of the year.

An apartment in the luxury Princes Wharf development sold for a third of its original purchase price, two units in separate leaky buildings were passed in, an apartment in a converted office building considered potentially earthquake prone fetched $345,000, and a unit with two bedrooms squeezed into 54 square metres sold for $581,000.

There wasn't good news for the vendors of units in two buildings that have both recently been found to have had significant problems with leaks.

One was a unit in the Heritage Auckland Hotel building (formerly the Farmers Department store) which will likely have to be completely reclad along its Wyndham and Hobson St frontages after it was found that water leakages over many years had seriously weakened the building's brick and plaster facade.

The other was a unit in the Scotia Tower apartment block overlooking Myers Park, which has significant water penetration issues and will also likely be facing major remediation work.

The costs of the repairs to both buildings are yet to be finalised, making it difficult for vendors to decide how much they would be prepared to pay (and for owners to decide how much they might accept), so although both apartments attracted bids, it was probably not surprising that they were passed in for sale by negotiation.

And the owner of a leasehold waterfront unit in the prestigious Princess Wharf development took a significant haircut when it was sold under the hammer for $110,000, compared to its original purchase price of $335,000.

However the vendors of a 54 square metre unit in the Statesman building would have been pleased when it fetched $581,000. That's more than $10,000 a square metre, before allowing for the value of its car park.

And a 51 square metre character apartment in downtown sold for $6765 a square metre, which wasn't bad considering the building is classified as potentially earthquake prone.

The full results of the auction are below.

4B/20 Wolfe St. Dunningham House.  A 51 square metre, one bedroom apartment in a character building just up the road from Viaduct Harbour. Vacant. The brick building was constructed in 1915 and has a seismic rating of just 26% of New Building Standard and is categorised as potentially earthquake prone. However that did not deter several bidders on the property and it was sold under the hammer for $345,000. According to QV.co.nz the unit was last sold in 2012 for $275,000. Rates were $1088 and the body corporate levy $6428.  The salesperson was Gabrielle Hoffmann.

402/35 Hobson St. Heritage Farmers building. A 36 square metre studio currently under management contract to the Heritage Auckland Hotel. The building has recently been found to have had water leaking into the cavity of its external walls and owners of units in it are likely to be faced with significant costs for the remediation work that is likely to be required. Although those costs are yet to be quantified, one potential buyer was prepared to bid $60,000 for the unit and the auctioneer then upped the ante with a vendor bid of $90,000, but when there were no further bids from potential buyers it was passed in. A sales history of the unit was not available however it had a rating valuation of $190,000. The salesperson was Ryan Bridgman.

1204/1 Parliament St. The Statesman building. A modern 54 square metre, two bedroom apartment with a car park. Vacant. There were multiple bidders for the property and it sold under the hammer for $581,000. According to QV.co.nz it was last sold for $305,000 in 2004. Rates were $1524 and the body corporate levy $4252. The salesperson was Lucy Piatov.

Unit 22. Shed 22/147 Quay St. Princes Wharf. Leasehold. A 57 square metre, one bedroom, waterfront unit with balcony looking out towards the Maritime Museum. Rented at $520 a week and offered for sale fully furnished.There was only one bidder for the unit and it was sold under the hammer for $110,000. According to QV.co.nz it was last sold in 2008 for $335,000. Rates were $1540, ground rent $8015 the operating expenses levy $9005. The salesperson was Maryanne Wong.

10a/8 Scotia Place. Scotia Tower. A 30 square metre studio overlooking Myers Park. This building has significant weathertightness issues and will require major remediation work, however the costs for this are yet to be quantified. When it was put to auction there was an opening bid of $80,000 and when no further bids were received it was passed in. According to QV.co.nz the unit was last sold for $105,000 in 1998. The agent was Ivan Tvrdeich.