A gracious Arts and Crafts villa just around the corner from one of Auckland’s most expensive streets sold at auction this week for $2.25 million.

The catch?

The stretched-out three-bedroom house backs right on to a house built by the previous owners in the 1960s when they sub-divided the property. The vendors have been in the spot since the 1980s.

Barfoot & Thompson agent Carl Madsen, who marketed the former rental property with Will Gluestein, said that while buyers were interested in the house, most were turned off by the lack of backyard.

However, some were excited by the chance to get a foothold into one of Herne Bay’s most desirable corners.

“We had downsizers looking at apartment alternative, as well as families looking for a cheap way of getting into the area – even without a big backyard.

“We had two bidders, with lots of people hoping for the property to be passed in so they could make conditional offers.

“The eventual buyers were a family with three kids, everyone is very happy.”

Madsen said the CV of $3.125m put some buyers off, but was misleading as a cross-lease property was not worth that.

The Arts and Crafts villa had many original features but butted up to the neighbouring house in the back. Photo / Supplied

The house had many original features, as well as glimpses of the harbour and sunsets over Coxs Bay. Photo / Supplied

The agents had pitched the home, with high ceilings, gracious leadlight bay windows, original joinery and fireplaces, and a huge return verandah as a good project. With glimpses of the sea and a huge undeveloped basement area, plus a tidy kitchen and bathroom, he said the house was perfectly liveable now while buyers sort out their plans.

They could well be inspired by the “after” of a pair of huge villas across the road at 306 and 290 Jervois Road that are on the market now. Both have price expectations of $10m or more, according to Wall Real Estate agents Andrew and Ollie Wall who are marketing the properties.

Albeit the two villas are on roomy 1300sqm-plus sections, with pools and designer touches that include custom printed wallpapers, designer kitchens, luxurious master bedroom suites, media rooms, wine cellars, enormous garages and more.

But the neighbourhood glamour could rub off. Around the corner is Marine Parade, where several house price records have been set over the past few years: a four-bedroom home designed by acclaimed architects Stevens Lawson set the 2022 street price record when it sold for $20.75m, while in 2020 a huge waterside villa fetched $23.5m, the street’s top price so far.

Although it has no backyard, the villa featured a wide front porch and lawn. Photo / Supplied

The house was subdivided in the 1980s with the owners building their house on the back of the cross-lease site. Photo / Supplied

Rare entry-level places come up on the street, Madsen said. In June he marketed another cross-lease home near the corner of Marine Parade and Jervois Road that sold for $2m, less than its CV of $2.55m. The three-bedroom home, one of a row of 1960s townhouses, had near-original kitchen and bathrooms and a grassy backyard, so appealed to Herne Bay buyers looking for an apartment alternative and happy to do a renovation and update.

Madsen said that after one of the hardest first half of the year he’d had in his career, he saw the market starting to warm up.

“Buying is driven by the first-home buyers. They buy in the outer suburbs and then those sellers can move closer to the city and it all starts to come back.

“We still don’t have enough listings. It’s better than last year, but people aren’t doing anything so we don’t know if the backlog will happen and they will all come to market.