Auction results: fierce bidding on most apartments at Ray White and City Sales - also the latest commercial sales from Colliers

Demand from investors for inner city Auckland apartments is so great that many are not making it to auction.

Martin Dunn, the director of real estate agency City Sales, which specialises in the Auckland apartment market, said the company had just had one of its busiest months ever, but it was struggling to bring apartments to auction because investors were offering such good prices that vendors were often accepting them without waiting for an auction.

At this week's auction City Sales had just three apartments on offer, all in the Ascent building on Nelson St.

A number of construction defects have been discovered in this building and owners of its apartments have faced special levies to cover the cost of repairs.

Although much of that work is done, the disclosure statement in the auction documents for the three apartments on offer state that the final cost of repairs will not be known until closer to the estimated completion date of November this year and that a further special levy may be required, creating some uncertainty about costs for potential buyers.

However, that did not deter potential buyers at the auction and bidding on all three apartments was enthusiastic and competitive and they all sold under the hammer.

At times bidding was also fiercely competitive at this weeks auction by Ray White City Apartments and although two of the five apartments on offer were passed in, the strength of the bidding suggests they won't remain on the market for long.

Colliers International have also reported the sale of a couple of commercial properties, including an office/warehouse building at Silverdale in Auckland's fast growing north, which will be providing its new owner with a net yield of 5.76%.

See below for the full results from City Sales, Ray White City Apartments and Colliers:

Results of apartment auction by City Sales on May 4:

• 321/149 Nelson St. Ascent building. A 56 square metre, two bedroom unit with a balcony. Vacant. Sold for $336,500. Rates were $1039 and the body corporate levy $3255.According to QV.co.nz it had been purchased in 2005 for $262,000. The agents were Steve Kirk and Habeeb Urrahman.
• 625/149 Nelson St. Ascent building.A 53 square metre, two bedroom unit with a balcony and car park. Rented at $395 a week.  Sold for $402,500.According to QV.co.nz the unit had been purchased in 2005 for $330,000. Rates were $1076 and the body corporate levy $3893. The agents were Steve Kirk and Habeeb Urrahman.
• 127/149 Nelson St. Ascent building. A 56 square metre, two bedroom unit with a balcony and car park. Vacant. Sold for $390,000. According to QV.co.nz it had been purchased in 2005 for $320,000. Rates were $1039 and the body corporate levy $3255. The agents were Steve Kirk and Habeeb Urrahman.

Results of Ray White City Apartments' auction on May 5:

• 325/72 Nelson St. Zest building. A 37 square metre, two bedroom apartment with a car park. Vacant. Passed in at $336,000. According to QV.co.nz it had been purchased in 2010 for $175,000.The agent was Krister Samuel.
• 813/421 Queen St. Kiwi on Queen building. A 45 square metre, two bedroom unit. Vacant. Sold for $386,000. Rates were $1273 and the body corporate levy $5153. According to QV.co.nz the unit had been purchased in 2012 for $186,000. The agent was Dominic Worthington. 
• 4D/17 Scanlan St, Grey Lynn. Scala building. Quick flick.  A 53 square metre, one bedroom, partially furnished unit with tandem car park. Vacant. Passed in at $510,000. According to QV.co.nz it had been purchased in November last year for $438,000. Rates were $1389 and the body corporate levy $4734. The agent was Krister Samuel.
• 1304/10 Waterloo Quadrant. The Quadrant building. A 32 square metre, one bedroom furnished unit, under management contract to the hotel. Sold for $325,000. The agents were Damian Piggin and Daniel Horrobin.
• 301/17 Vogel Lane. Alpha building. A 54 square metre, two bedroom unit with a car park. Vacant. Sold for $560,000. According to QV.co.nz it had been purchased in 2013 for $380,000. Rates were $1446 and the body corporate levy $4630. The agent was Krister Samuel.

Recent commercial property sales by Colliers International:

• 22 McColl St, Newmarket. A 540 square metre, mixed use property. Vacant. Sold for $2.775 million. The agents were Jonathon Lynch and Kris Ongley.
• !4 Peters Way, Silverdale. A 1387 square metre, office/Warehouse on a 2804 square metre site. Sold for $3.125 million providing a yield of 5.76%. The agents were Jimmy O'Brien, Matt Prentice and Mike Ryan. 

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