Auction room erupts as frantic bidding war pushes home past $2m mark

The four-bedroom home on Birchwood Ave in Burleigh, Blenheim, sold for an impressive $2.015m...
The four-bedroom home on Birchwood Ave in Burleigh, Blenheim, sold for an impressive $2.015m after a bidding war. Photo: Supplied
Spectators at a Blenheim auction room were on tenterhooks as they watched a lifestyle property sell under the hammer for $2.015 million – more than half a million dollars over its $1.46m RV.

The Birchwood Avenue home in Burleigh also exceeded the owner’s expectations as they pocketed an extra $200,000 more than they had been prepared to sell it for.

The intense auction for the four-bedroom home plus office, which attracted four bidders, opened at $1.45m and quickly rose in $50,000 bids.

Bidding then slowed in the mid $1.7ms and the property was announced on the market at $1.8m.

But that didn’t stop the last two bidders – an out-of-towner and a local buyer – who continued to fight over the six-year-old home.

The shed has room for games and even a makeshift bar. Photo: Supplied
The shed has room for games and even a makeshift bar. Photo: Supplied
The Bayleys’ auctioneer went to call the property away multiple times only to be stopped at the last second by another bid.

He even commented to the crowd how the bidders were going hammer and tongs and at times struggled to keep track of where the small fast bids were coming from.

The room erupted when a bidder placed a bid of $1.9m, but the big applauses, whoops and cheers came after all 83 bids were made.

The buyer from the lower South Island eventually secured the home for $2.015m with a final $1000 bid at the Bayleys auction last Thursday.

The home, built in 2018, attracted families and active retirees. Photo: Supplied
The home, built in 2018, attracted families and active retirees. Photo: Supplied
Bayleys listing agent Tony Yardley said it was an “awesome” auction and one that everyone in the auction got behind due to the “spirited” bidding.

He had been with the owners who were selling their home on the market to downsize and said they were also very happy with the result.

The property, which was marketed as a “prestigious home in a very popular area”, attracted a mix of local families and retirees as well as people from out-of-town looking to move for the climate, lifestyle and in some cases be closer to family.

Yardley said the large shed and super-sized turning circle on the 2137s qm section was a big drawcard for people who wanted somewhere to park their cars, boats, campervans or caravans, adding that larger properties, especially within the town’s border, were not that easy to find.

“There are a few properties with similar-sized sections, but they don’t come up very often.

"A lot of people are looking for properties with a bit of room and a lot of males want a large shed.”

Along with the four bidders in the auction rooms, he said they also had a lot of conditional buyers waiting in the wings in case the property passed in.

By Nikki Preston, OneRoof.co.nz