Desperate buyers turn to leaky homes

Auckland Property Investors Association president David Whitburn said there had been a noticeable change in attitude among buyers over the past couple of months.

Previously, leaky homes had been selling at about land value – or in some cases below – to investors.

Now, they are selling for much better prices to owner-occupiers willing to take a punt.

Whitburn said leaky houses were now selling for $100,000 to $200,000 below their capital value. “People think it’s a good buy and say ‘we’ll fix a wall this year, a wall next year’… but it’s a high-risk strategy.”

He said it was important that people knew exactly how much it would cost to reclad their homes.

Whitburn said for people who had been sitting on leaky homes for some time, it was a good opportunity to sell as people were clamouring for properties.

“They might have gone to auction and just missed out a few times, or want to get into the Auckland Grammar zone.”

He said prices were steadily improving.

“You’d expect them to sell for somewhere between land value and CV but they’re getting closer to CV.”