– A four-bedroom villa in Ponsonby sold for $3.4m after over 50 bids.
– The sale is part of Kāinga Ora’s plan to upgrade and future-proof social housing.
– Proceeds from the $154m sales are reinvested into building and upgrading homes.
New Zealand’s most expensive state house has sold for $3.4 million.
The four-bedroom villa on Trinity Street, in the trendy Auckland suburb of Ponsonby, was snapped up after more than 50 bids and some tense negotiations at a Bayleys’ auction today.
There appeared to be three people fighting over the property, with bids going as low as $1000. The auction paused at $3.223m for negotiation. More than an hour later, the auction resumed and the property sold for $3.4m.
The property hit the market last month with an RV of $3.15m – the highest for a state house – and was sold as part of the Government’s sell-off of 900 Kāinga Ora-owned homes.
Kāinga Ora chief executive Matt Crockett said the sale of the 102-year-old villa was just one of 279 properties being sold this year as part of a nationwide effort to upgrade and future-proof social homes throughout the country.
“The $154 million we’ve gained from these sales is being reinvested into social housing – building new, warm, dry homes where they’re most needed, or completing extensive upgrades to extend the life of our existing homes.”
Crockett said many of the properties being offloaded were expensive to maintain and no longer met the needs of its tenants.
“Our renewals programme will see us upgrade or replace around 2000 homes each year, with the goal of renewing more than half of our 78,000 homes within the next 30 years.”
Crockett said last month that the 102-year-old villa was charming, but required costly and frequent repairs.
“We can’t justify holding onto such a valuable house in one of Auckland’s most affluent suburbs when selling it allows us to build or upgrade more state homes where they’re needed most.”
The agents selling the house say it was crying out for a buyer with vision. Photo / Supplied
Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced the sale of the property on Facebook, highlighting its connection to New Zealand music royalty.
“It’s worth over $3 million and is next to Lorde’s former house in Ponsonby!” Bishop wrote last month.
“It has four bedrooms and was formerly occupied by just three people. In the former resident’s own words, it’s time to sell it. Kāinga Ora will be using the proceeds to invest in new and improved housing, that is cheaper to build and maintain, and in the right place. The site itself has redevelopment potential as well, at over 600sqm.”
The house was listed with Bayleys agents Jock Kooger and Pawel Smuga.
In their marketing, the agents noted that the property was a “grand dame” that was ready for a “visionary transformation”.
“First time on the market in decades, this wrap-around grand dame provides the perfect canvas for a new chapter. Restore her timeless character, or design a best-in-class architectural statement home,” they wrote in their listing on OneRoof.
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“This is a rare opportunity to secure a substantial foothold in Ponsonby’s most sought-after streets.
“Bring your architect and unlock the full potential of this remarkable site – a property of this calibre is rarely offered.”
Lorde previously lived on the street, which is one of the most sought-after in Ponsonby. Photo / Getty Images
In May, one of the former tenants of the Trinity Street villa told RNZ that the house should be sold.
Anita Jones, who moved into the four-bedroom state house with her four children in 2016, said: “I think it probably should be sold because it’s worth three or four million, so you could probably build a lot more for that.”
The villa is on one of Ponsonby’s most sought-after streets, where houses typically sell for more than $3m. Lorde made headlines when she paid $2.84m for a house on the street in 2016. She sold the villa for $4.3m just last year.
Earlier this year, Bishop announced the sell-off of 900 Kāinga Ora homes estimated to be worth between $360m and $450m.
Properties in Auckland’s high-value suburbs have been the first to hit the market. In April this year, three cottages on Amy Street, in Ellerslie, were snapped up after they were pitched as a development play.
Barfoot & Thompson listing agent Rawdon Christie told OneRoof that up to 17 townhouses were built on the combined 2475sqm site, which was worth more than $6m.
Two-bedroom duplexes overlooking Auckland’s Ōrākei Basin, in the suburb of Meadowbank, have also been picked up. The combined 1684sqm site, which is zoned for development, had an RV of $4.475m.