Development of 15 incomplete townhouses sells for $9m at mortgagee auction
Wednesday, 20 April 2022
An Auckland development of 15 unfinished townhouses has sold for $9 million at mortgagee auction.
The 1618 square metre North Shore property, auctioned by Barfoot and Thompson, was being sold on an “as is where is basis”.
The 15 terrace townhouses come in a range of sizes including two, three and four bedrooms, with one or two bathrooms.
Bidding started at $7m and increased to $8.7m before the auctioneer called a break. Bidding resumed at $9m, at which point it came on the market, and sold after attracting no further bids.
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The Barfoot and Thompson sale site for the development, which is still active, suggests 10 of the 15 townhouses had been sold prior to the development going to mortgagee sale.
The auction had 100 people watching online, and others there in person.
One person in attendance asked whether the sale included chattels.
The auctioneer said it was up to prospective buyers to have done their homework and to have understood the sale contract.
“This is a mortgagee sale. It is as is where is, subject to the conditions in this contract.”
A Trade Me listing for the auction of the Sunnynook Central development at 198 and 200 Sunnynook Road in Totara Vale first appeared in late-March.
The advert was seeking a developer to finish the project, and existing buyers of the townhouses appeared to have been taken by surprise.
The advert lists Barfoot and Thompson’s George Fong as the lead agent.
Speaking just before the auction, Fong said he had fielded four or five calls from interest buyers, who were primarily finance companies or developers interested in taking on the project.
Property records show the lender for the development was ENGRW.
At the time of listing, Fong said the developer had borrowed the money from a finance company and couldn’t pay for it, so they took it to market.
”I don’t know the situation, I just got the instruction from the finance company lawyer to put it on the market,” Fong said.
The Trade Me listing says: “This boutique development of just 15 townhouses represents a not to be missed opportunity for a developer to takeover over and add the finishing touches necessary to reap huge rewards.