Reflecting drifting and flat prices across much of the supercity, Mt Albert property values seem to have fallen back over the last few months.
Real estate agents report at least a flattening in local prices with sellers forced to rein in their sights a little, though well-presented homes are still drawing good prices.
QV’s latest statistics show average values in Mt Albert slipped 0.4 per cent in the month to January 31, down slightly to $1,101,200. Thirteen months earlier the average estimated price sat at $1,087,150, so the growth since the end of 2016 has been minimal.
That “settling down” impression is further strengthened by QV’s actual sales data for the three months to the end of last year, which notes that prices on average were down around five per cent on the capital values set in July last year.
But for the long-holders, residential real estate in Mt Albert has proved a valuable asset. At the end of the last property boom in October 2007 (just before the global financial crisis, which saw a halt to price rises and a drift back), QV put the Mt Albert median value at $517,000. The rise over those 10 years to today’s levels: 113 per cent.
Some of the latest figures show the topsy-turvy nature of the local apartment market over the last few years.
One example: 2F/20 Morningstar Place sold in January for $450,000 (CV: $480,000) through Ray White, after being bought in September 2008 for $416,800 (when its CV was $360,000).
On the surface, that’s a $33,200 “profit” for the two-bedroom, two-bathroom 74sq m apartment with secure indoor car park.
But take away the $16,000-plus selling fees and there’s not a lot left, especially in a period where many Auckland homes almost doubled in value.
There were some hits and misses in the early life of the apartment, too. The unit sold for $375,000 in 2006 when it had a CV of $415,000, though leapt to $463,000 in a fresh sale just a few months later. Two years on, those owners sold the unit for $350,000 against a CV of $425,000 – a $113,000 loss, with selling fees pushing them to more like $130,000 in the red.
Other recent local sales:
23 Lorraine Ave sold for $1,175,000 (CV: $1.205m), Barfoot and Thompson; 2/54 Seaview Tce sold for $1,025,000 (CV: $1.28m), Barfoot and Thompson; 35 Kenneth Ave sold for $1,600,000 (CV: $1.425m), Barfoot and Thompson;
43A Willcott St sold for $918,300 (CV: $1.075m), Anne Duncan Real Estate; 3/75 Taumata Rd sold for $630,000 (CV: $600,000), Bayleys; 19 Springleigh Ave sold for $1.338,500 (CV: $1.48m), Bayleys; 2 Haverstock Rd sold for $1,355,000 (CV: $1.24m), Harcourts.
Bruce Morris
