Luxury Auckland apartment with sweeping harbour views sells for $145,000 but the owner would have accepted $99,000

A luxury Auckland apartment with expansive harbour views was auctioned with a declared reserve price of $99,000 this week and ended up selling under the hammer for $145,000.

The two bedroom apartment (pictured at right, with further photos at the end of this article) in the Scene One building on Beach Rd in the CBD, had two car parks and a 20 square metre balcony which looked directly out to the port with the harbour beyond.

It had a rating valuation of $375,000 but was on a leasehold title, with ground rent payments of $7168 a year.

Many leasehold properties have suffered large falls in value over recent years, so this one was advertised with a reserve price of $99,000, which meant it would be sold if that price was met when it was auctioned by Ray White City Apartments this week.

The property received an opening bid of $50,000 and bidding was fast and furious from half a dozen potential buyers before it was sold under the hammer for $145,000.

However the owners of two other leasehold apartments offered for sale at the same auction weren't so fortunate despite jocular prompting from the auctioneer who encouraged them to borrow as much as they could while interest rates were at historically low levels.

One of the two was a luxury waterfront apartment in The Quays building at Viaduct Harbour which received just one bid - for $200,000 - and was passed in at that price, while the other was a traditional home unit in Newmarket which was on one of the old church leases with 21 year ground rent reviews, which also had a declared reserve of $99,000 but was passed in with no bids.

But there was no shortage of buyers for the other apartments at this week's Ray White auction, all of which sold under hammer providing gross rental yields of around 7-7.5%.

And City Sales had a 50% clearance rate at this week's apartment auction.

The results of both auctions are listed below:

• 1A/18 Scotia Place. Nova en Scotia building. A 44 square metre, two bedroom unit overlooking Myers Park. Rented for $380 a week.There were multiple bidders for the unit and it sold under the hammer for $280,000, providing a gross rental yield of 7.1%. This reduced to 5.7% after allowing for rates of $926 and body corporate levy of $2769. According to QV.co.nz the unit was last sold for $213,500 in 2012. The agent was Bain Duigan.
• 1203/53 Cook St. Aura building. A 53 square metre, two bedroom, fully furnished unit with harbour views, but according to the auctioneer it  was ready to be refurbished. Vacant. There were multiple bidders for the unit and it sold under the hammer $341,500.  The agent was Dominic Worthington.
• 110/53 Cook St. Aura building. A 49 square metre, two bedroom, furnished unit with a car park. Rented at $480 a week. There were multiple bidders and it sold under the hammer for $332,500, providing a gross rental yield of  7.5%. This reduced to 5.9% after allowing for rates of $1072 and body corporate levy of $4317. The agents were Damian Piggin and Daniel Horrobin.
• 1B/99 Customs St West. The Quays building. An 81 square metre, two bedroom, two bathroom waterfront apartment with a car park, at Viaduct Harbour. Leasehold and vacant. The opening bid was $200,000 and when there were no further bids it was passed in for sale by negotiation. Rates were $1987 and the body corporate levy $14,010.  According to QV.co.nz the unit was originally sold for $415,000 in 2002 and resold for $365,000 in 2005. The agents were Aled Luffman and James Mairs.
• 6/4 Cowie St, Newmarket. Cowie Court. A 36 square metre, one bedroom upstairs unit, in a traditional 1960s era, two level block of home units, with an allocated off street car park. On a church trust leasehold title with ground rent reviews every 21 years and the next review due in 2027. Vacant. Rates were $1072 and the body corporate levy and ground rent combined were $11,784. Would benefit from redecoration, according to the auctioneer. The unit had a declared reserve of $99,000 but there were no bids and it was passed in for sale by negotiation. The agent was Dominic Worthington.
• 1113/2 Beach Rd. Scene One building. A 50 square metre, two bedroom unit with two side by side car parks. Leasehold and vacant. There are limited weathertightness issues affecting part of the building. Rates were $1395, operating expenses $4063 and ground rent $7168. The property had a declared reserve of $99,000. Sold under the hammer for $145,000. According to QV.co.nz it was previously sold for $253,000 in 2011.The agent was Dominic Worthington.

Auctioned by City Sales on May 27:

• 19/8 Clayton St, Newmarket. A 36 square metre one bedroom unit with a car park and north facing balcony. The building has recently been reclad as part of weathertightness remediation work. Rented at $390 a week. Rates were $991 and the body corporate levy $2953. When there were no bids on the property the auctioneer made a bid of $310,000 on behalf of the vendor and when there were no further bids it was passed in for sale by negotiation. According to QV.co.nz the property was last sold for $193,000 in 2003. The agents were Tony Kelly and Warren Proctor.
• 11F/189 Hobson St. The Stanford building.  A 37 square metre, two bedroom, fully furnished unit, rented at $395 a week. There were multiple bidders on the property and it sold under the hammer for $210,000, providing a gross rental yield of 9.8%. After rates of $846 and the body corporate levy of $4496 were allowed for, the yield was $7.2%. According to QV.co.nz the apartment was originally purchased for $183,000 in 2003 and resold for  $128,000 in 2008. The  agent was Georgia Featherstone.

Pictured below: the view from the balcony of the Scene One apartment that sold for $145,000.

Pictured below: the bedroom of the Scene One apartment that sold for $145,000.

Pictured below: The Scene One apartment building on Beach Rd in Auckland's CBD.