– Four-bedroom, two-bathroom homes have a price advantage over three-bedroom, one-bathroom homes in Auckland.
– Agents report strong demand for extra bedrooms and bathrooms, especially for families and remote workers.
– Recent sales show significant price increases, with renovated homes attracting fierce bidding and high interest.
Four-bedroom homes with a second bathroom seem to have a price advantage over three-bedroom, one-bathroom homes in the current Auckland market.
Agents told OneRoof an extra bedroom – along with an extra bathroom – had pulling power, though one cautioned against squashing in a fourth bedroom just for the sake of it.
Ray White agents Rohan Thompson and Reece Glozier recently sold a house on Arthur Street, in Auckland’s Onehunga, for $2.32 million – nearly $600,000 over its new RV.
The Arthur Street property had benefitted from a full renovation and from buyers looking for an extra bedroom and bathroom. Photo / Supplied
The master suite opened out onto the back garden. Photo / Supplied
There was fierce bidding at the auction, and the price rocketed up, Thompson told OneRoof. The house had four double bedrooms and two bathrooms, and, importantly, had benefitted from a beautiful renovation, the second one the vendors had completed in the 11 years they had owned the property.
“The finish was exceptional and then you had a massive double garage on the front,” Thompson said, noting that most of the buyers who came through the open homes were locals.
“They had schools locked in, they liked the area, they liked the neighbourhood – they just wanted a bigger home rather than a smaller three-bedroom, which they may have owned.”
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Having a fourth bedroom was important to people with families, he said. “If they’ve got one or two children, then they want the extra space.”
Around 130 groups came through the open homes – a lot in the current flat market – and there were six registered bidders at the auction.
OneRoof records show the property had an RV of $1.725m and last changed hands in 2014 for $780,000.
Thompson, who is principal of Ray White Royal Oak, added: “To get a home to this standard requires a lot of work. Obviously, not every owner is prepared to go through that, or can. And then obviously with the houses that have been subdivided, they might be putting up a whole lot of townhouses, but that’s not what these buyers want.”
The ensuite in the Arthur Street house was a hit, with the property attracting 130 groups at the open homes. Photo / Supplied
The beautifully presented Onehunga property sold for almost $600,000 above its RV. Photo / Supplied
Buyers were at different stages, and while some were not sure of the timing for their next move, they knew their family was growing and that they would need something bigger.
“Obviously, if there aren’t many larger homes available. Some buyers have to act sooner than they planned, so they can get the right home.”
The auction had been a great result, Thompson said: “I think we always hoped it was going to reach this sort of level.”
Onehunga was an attractive suburb for people because of the character homes and the proximity to both the central city and the airport.
Ray White agent Rohan Thompson: “If they’ve got one or two children, then they want the extra space.” Photo / Supplied
“There’s so many different ways of getting around, it’s become a lot more central than what it used to be back in time.”
Matt Gibson, of Ray White Remuera, told OneRoof that in his patch of Meadowbank, a fourth bedroom was always beneficial.
“A lot of parents are working from home or would like the opportunity to use the spare bedroom as an office or something. The fourth bedroom is definitely sought-after, and if you’ve got five, even better.”
It was hard to put a dollar figure on the value of having a fourth bedroom, he said, noting that the clincher was often the second bathroom.
Bryce Taylor and Josh Lowe, from Harcourts JK Realty in Mount Albert, had also noted a surge in buyer interest in four-bedroom homes.
“There are a lot of reasons now why that four-bedroom house has become so popular,” said Taylor.
“When I was growing up, a three-bedroom house was all you needed. Now that people are starting to work from home more often, the fourth bedroom becomes much more important.”
Harcourts agents Bryce Taylor and Josh Lowe recently sold a four-bedroom, two-bathroom house in New Lynn for $1.13m. Photo / Supplied
The agents said a fourth bedroom definitely got more people to open homes. Most people also wanted a second bathroom to go along with it.
They recently sold a four-bedroom, two-bathroom property on Titirangi Road in New Lynn, for $1.13m, well above its RV of $1.05m, after attracting 10 registered bidders to the auction.
Lowe said he could not remember the last time there were that many registered bidders for a three-bedroom house.
Taylor said how much value a fourth bedroom and an extra bathroom added depended on whether the rest of the house needed renovation. If it did, it might only add $100,000 to the price. Both elements could add $500,000 to a fully renovated home, though.
“It’s really hard to put a price on those. It varies house to house but obviously a recently renovated house, a nicely renovated house, in this market is huge,” he told OneRoof.
“A lot of us, especially people of my generation, don’t want to do DIY anymore. We don’t want to have to go through renovation budgets because that is quite expensive to do.”
Rachel Hawes, business owner of Ray White Grey Lynn, said a second bathroom was generally an advantage but cautioned against adding an extra bedroom willy-nilly.
“Like, if it’s a tiny house and you’ve sacrificed some living to create one, no. If it’s a s*** fourth one, no. It’s not so simple because what you could have done is compromise a delightful house with loads of living just to add a bedroom.”
Hawes said if a fourth bedroom added as part of a proper renovation was different, but doing so would typically cost a lot of money.
“If you’re just changing your internal configuration to do that. then you’re losing something to get it.”
She said there was a trend of late of turning two bedrooms into three but people often ended up with one big bedroom and two very small bedrooms, which might work for rental purposes but not necessarily for a residential home.
A second bathroom, however, was nearly always advantageous, unless it made the bedroom too tiny. “Two bathrooms are definitely a good value add.”