The 582sq m plot on Cox St in Merivale had an RV of $1.16 million. The auction attracted 12 registered bidders, six of whom put their hands up at Harcourts Holmwood’s auction room on Wednesday, OneRoof.co.nz reported.
It turned into a two-way battle between a developer who planned to build two high-end homes on the site and a couple who wanted to build their own home there.
The new owners are downsizers who had not been able to find an existing house that met their needs and decided to buy the section to build their next home, OneRoof reported.
Harcourts listing agent John Fulton told OneRoof the sale price was the highest per square metre in Merivale and neighbouring Fendalton for quite some time.
“You can almost pick up properties on the same street for around the same price, so it’s pretty amazing to think we ended up [with] $1.545m just for the site,” he told OneRoof.
Sections with older homes in the suburb have sold for about $1.5m in the past, but required costly demolition work.
A search of Merivale listings on OneRoof found more than 30 priced under $1.5m, including a two-bedroom new-build on Donald Place asking $689,000, and an older character home on Chapter Street inviting offers over $1.499m.
Fulton said the Cox Street property would likely double in value once it had a home on it.
The property was originally owned by Christchurch City Council and occupied by residential units. These were damaged in the Christchurch earthquakes and subsequently demolished.
The vendors paid $890,000 for the site in 2018, according to OneRoof records.
