On House Hunt, we're tracking the highs... We own a home ...and lows... It's just too expensive. ...of ordinary Kiwis across the country... Getting a house is very important. ...as they hunt for their first home in one of the most overpriced markets in the Western world. This time ` a first-home buyer gears up for the frenzy of an Auckland auction. A lot of Asian in the auction room, they have tons of money, but unfortunately, I'm not one of those. And in Blenheim, will newlyweds Joanna and Chris stop fighting long enough to buy their first home? There's not a lot of empathy between me and her, to be honest. You hear of couples nearly ending up in divorce just over a house. Copyright Able 2015 Auckland property prices continue to defy gravity, thanks to lack of supply, record population growth and high demand from foreign investors. It's a hot topic. Nobody can figure out why a humble home in South Auckland costs more than a spread like this in the south of France. And nobody knows what to do about it either ` if they were honest. 40 year old telecoms specialist Ethan Tey is Malaysian by birth, but after 14 years in the City Of Sails, he wants his own piece of Auckland. I came to NZ in 2001 for my tertiary education. When I was a student, I started falling in love with this country, and it's so different from where I come from. It's a wonderful country. Who doesn't want to be a Kiwi? Ethan's an inner-city boy. He loves to party. And he loves to shop. But he also loves to garden. That's why the inner-city Ponsonby area, where he's renting now, is perfect. I personally like the kinda historic house, three bedroom, big section. So if I can get a house around this area, that will be fantastic. But most houses around here start at seven figures. Even with savings and his KiwiSaver account, Ethan's budget is only half that. And contrary to popular opinion, he's not loaded. It seems like these rumours say a lot of Asians in the auction room, they have tons of money, but unfortunately, I am not one of those. (LAUGHS) With a budget like Ethan's, he can't have inner city with a garden, unless he gets a cardboard box and a shopping trolley. So he's got to cut his suit according to his cloth. In downtown Auckland, this one-bedroom loft-style apartment with a reasonable CV of $320,000 might help him prioritise. His mate Patric has come along to have a look and to meet agent Donald Gibbs for a tour. Welcome to the Lorne St loft. Ooh, thank you. We have a real nice one-bedroom. Loads of character. Have a look around. Wow, I never expected Auckland would have such a New York style. Wow. I like the wooden floor. Mm. And it's not even particle board. For now, the garden can go and dig itself. Have to check the kitchen, because I like cooking. This social butterfly can see many opportunities for inviting everyone back from the bar. It has an island, so when you're cooking, you're not tucked in a corner, and then you can have friends sit around here. It's quite a social thing. It's very important. But there's one problem with this kitchen. But I think the thing that you will actually like a gas cooker. That's` Yeah, that's right. A gas stove. Yeah. Yeah. It's real cooking. When you stir-fry, you really have to have a gas stove. (LAUGHS) Yeah. It's` Yeah, that's just cosmetic. Upstairs, the wow factor is restored. I quite like it. It's quite warm. Whoa. And it's very inviting. BED CREAKS, BOTH LAUGH Careful, Ethan. It's not your bed to break. That's a walk-in wardrobe. There he goes. Wow. That's a good size. It's a very well designed. Ethan's got more designer shirts than Elton, and at this place, a huge space to store them. Even the bathroom gets five stars. It's a bit feel like a` quite a hotel feeling. Ethan's tempted by this place, but friend Patric casts a last-minute green vote. Probably you love a garden, so... Ooh. If I'm living in New York,... Mm. > ...I would buy this. I would buy this. > But it's in Auckland. Hmm. Ethan's spend ceiling is $500,000 dollars, but he's hoping for some decent change out of that. Although this place is freehold, owners pay body-corporate fees of around $6000 a year to cover maintenance and insurance. As with many Auckland properties, the CV is a guide price only. What sort of CV is this one? 320. Oh, 320. But that won't buy it. That won't buy it? No. It will be north of that. It will be more. Oh, right, yes. Very very sought after. That is your job to get as high as you can for the seller, so I can understand ` it's your job ` and my job is to get the price down. We win. LAUGHTER So what's Ethan's verdict on the downtown loft? It has the wow factor. When you actually went inside, the open plan, the wall and the kitchen is lovely, and Patric and I, we can actually visualise having a party in there. It has a lot of good things, but there are other sorts of things that... (SIGHS) You know, I still prefer to have land. After some thought, it's wow but not right now. Maybe Ethan should move south. In Blenheim, schoolteachers Joanna and Chris Charteris have a lower budget of $400,000, but they've already viewed several houses on large sections. Chris freely admits to being a bit OCD, especially when it comes to showers. I'd still have to use the squeegee on that, though. Like, shower time is supposed to be relaxing, and that's just, like, a chore. The house hunt has opened up all kinds of anxieties for Chris, whose father lost money on a home. We are excited, but we don't want to, like, get our hopes up until it's, like, a done deal. Yeah. So after putting in an offer on this weatherboard house, just 12 hours later, Chris wants to pull out of the deal, and Jo just can't talk him down. How about you buy a house, and then I go and buy a house? OK. For first-timers, buying a house is a massive commitment, and Chris is feeling the strain. There's not a lot of empathy between me and her, to be honest. Um, like, while we really love each other, we're completely different people, and we feel completely different about this whole house thing. I just feel over it. We really try not to argue about it. You hear of couples having domestics and nearly ending up in divorce just over a house, and at the end of the day, it's not worth it. We need to keep telling ourselves that we need to be patient. We're really stressing that we can't rush into it. Just kind of want to find a home. Making the right decision by Jo and by our future family, that's definitely the hardest part. I think now I'd actually go back and just tell her if she wants to put on the extra $500 or $1000, then that's totally fine. Before, I think I was just getting wound up. And at the end of the day, it's just money, and if she's happy in the house, then that's great, yeah. If Chris decides that he wants to withdraw our offer, that's absolutely fine, and then we'll just go back and have a look at some more houses, do it again. Not willing to meet the vendor's price, Joanna and Chris decide to walk away from the Scott St property. Putting their differences aside, they've now found a house that's got them both excited. It's a neat place in their target suburb of Springlands, two minutes from the school where they work. This three-bedroom character house is going to auction in a matter of days. Completely renovated, with a CV of $370,000, they might even get change from 400 K. What do you think? Oh, I'm loving the section. It's massive. It's quite big. It's very nice. It's definitely ticking the character box for me. I'm just really eager to get inside and a have look. Angela Bowers has come to do the guided tour, kindly supervised by the cat. Have a wee wander through. BOTH: Great, thank you. Wow. This is a nice big kitchen. It's quite a stylish house. I really like the way it's been kind of set out. It's still very open. Um, the kitchen kind of feels like the centre, which is` which is quite cool. It's quite nice. Perhaps Chris is making up for his reluctance over the last property. He's now Mr Optimism. You got your dining space over there, and then there's this area in here, which is` I don't know what you'd really call this area, but I like it. And once again, Jo's seeing herself in her new nest. This is quite cute. I really like it. It's quite intimate. So you could either` like, if it's a nice day, you could do breakfast out here or you could have it on the dining table there. Yeah. It's very cool. This is a nice room. As they say, quality never goes out of style. It's kind of almost majestic, isn't it? Love the little windows like that. It's got quite a lot of character. After suggesting separate houses, Chris is thinking of reunions ` grown-up ones. Would either be a spare bedroom or an office maybe. What, not a child? No. (LAUGHS) Come on. > I thought that's why we were getting a house. < No, not yet. Not yet, OK. I can wait. Not like I've got much choice. Looks like Chris might still be on time out. OK, final bedroom. Thought you said you wanted an office in the other room. I said spare room or office. OK. What do you do with it, Chris? This would be the child number two. Child number two. All right. Chris just can't help himself. Bathrooms have proved a problem for cleanaholic Chris before, but this one has a saving grace. Now we can have a drawer each. Yes, we could. And you can keep all your stuff in one drawer, so, you know, it won't cause me any anxiety. As long as you keep your drawer closed so I can't see the mess in it. (CHUCKLES) And in bathroom number two, it looks like Chris' squeegeeing days could be behind him. Don't know how we would squeegee down that on the` On the curved door. ...on the curve. Yeah, I might get away with not doing it. (CHUCKLES) Yeah. Out in the garden, the leaf blower of suburban happiness seems to have huffed and puffed Chris' anxieties away. Yeah, I'm actually getting quite excited about it at the moment. Um, I think this is something that definitely ticks a lot of boxes. Absolutely love the house. It's really nice, really cute and modern at the same time. Love the section, and I can really see us living here for a long period of time. So could this house put an end to all the stresses of house hunting? If they want to live here, they'll have to psyche themselves up for perhaps the most stressful event in their life together so far ` the auction. So we'll go along to the auction and hope for the best. Um, we'll just have to` just fingers crossed that we might actually have a chance in securing this property. UPBEAT MUSIC In Blenheim, months of searching have finally brought Chris and Joanna to what could be their home. Their budget of $400,000 could be enough, but who knows what this place will fetch at auction? Have you been to an auction before? < Um, no, we've never been to an auction before. Watched a few on YouTube, if that counts. Yeah, it's not quite the same. Property porn is well and good, but they're auction virgins. Luckily, agent Angela Bowers has some helpful pointers. Are there any sort of strategies or tactics that maybe you could perhaps recommend to us as first-time auctioneers? Yes, definitely. Are you good at poker? < Uh, don't gamble Oh, that's a bit of a problem. You need to practise your poker face. The other thing I would suggest is be bold with your bids; don't be fearful. You know, when you put your hand up, even if you might be at your limit, don't let anyone else in the room ` or, in this particular case, in the garden ` know that you're at that upper limit. As schoolteachers, Chris and Jo have been taught how to deal with po-faced opponents. But a bidding war is something else entirely. Very exciting! It will be. Yeah. Little bit nerve-racking too. Yep, kind of feel a bit out of our depth, but I'm sure if it's meant to be, it's meant to be. Yeah. Mm. The perfect home in the perfect spot, but can they get it for the perfect price? FUNKY PERCUSSION MUSIC In Auckland, house-hunter Ethan has rejected a city loft in favour of a house with a garden. He's spread his search to the western suburbs. In Glen Eden, this tidy three-bedroom cross-lease home has a big deck, a backyard and a bold, old-fashioned listing ` buy now for $475,000. Within budget but out in the boonies, what will Ethan and his friend Patric make of the Westie lifestyle? Wow. Wow. Quite a nice garden. That's quite cool. Welcome. Agent Andre Kingham will show them around. Ooh, that's quite good. Yeah, you know, a view, you never, never beat a house to have a view. Yeah. > It's a great view ` for the connoisseur of corrugated iron. So you can sit here. You have, you know, another a table. How relaxing! Yeah. But Ethan's not the only house-hunter captivated by that view. < Within three days of it being on the market, we had three offers, all of them above asking. Oh. < And the one the one that's been accepted, that is going through that process, over the five mark. Wow. It's a classic illustration of the frenzied Auckland market. If Ethan doesn't hurry up, he'll be trespassing. The place is under contract, so he still has time, but the clock's ticking right now. What do you think? It's... quite spacious. Yeah. Yeah. I think because it's got quite an open plan, it looks quite nice. It's a lot bigger than what I thought from the outside Yeah, mm, it's good. Kitchen... Needs to change a little bit. Yes. The kitchen's not Ethan's cup of tea, but it wouldn't cost much to renovate. Knock down a wall. Knock down a wall. Three grand. This house has the three bedrooms Ethan's looking for. On a single income, he'll need to take in flatmates to help him pay the mortgage. Study room. But in the bedrooms, the neighbouring houses give Ethan the feeling this is less of a home and more of a barracks. I would probably have to do something to block the neighbour's window, because I can see the neighbours. I think probably their kitchen. Master bedroom. Ah, there's a master bedroom. That's... It's a good size Mm-hm. But if you're not careful, the neighbours could cop an eyeful. Still need a bit privacy, eh. (LAUGHS) Yeah. This is what happened to the quarter-acre paradise older people talk about. Four houses on one section equals less privacy. So there's a spare bedroom. You see in the neighbour's window. It seems like the whole house is surrounded by neighbours. Yeah. (LAUGHS) With all those fences, the garden is extremely compact. That's fine, so long as the neighbours aren't noisy or nudists. I'm not sure about this house. Yep. It just somehow` It doesn't tick the boxes. You lost really a lot of privacy if you live here. I think privacy is very important. There's plenty of buyers queuing up for this house. Ethan doesn't love it enough to make a backup offer, but it has given him a dose of the stark realities of the Auckland market. In Blenheim, auction day has dawned for Chris and Jo Charteris. After six months of hunting for a home, this character bungalow has captured their hearts. Chris is shouldering the bidder's role today, but as usual, it's kept him awake half the night. Been kind of a bit of a wreck on the inside, I think. I guess I'm just emotionally invested in it now, which is... really bad, I think. Their maximum budget is $400,000, but unlike the last time they decided to buy, Jo wants to stick within the limit. Chris has other ideas. He just wants to keep going until it's ours, so... I'd quite like to wrap the whole house-hunting process up. Yeah, it's been a long time now, and I just really want a place for us where we can just move on to the next part of our lives. After months of searching, endless discussions and even a storm-out, Chris and Jo are literally on the threshold of their first home sweet home. Let's go buy a house. Buying a house is just like Monopoly, but hopefully our couple don't get the boot today. The competition seems fierce. To stop himself getting carried away, an anxious Chris has asked agent Tanya Smith to bid on their behalf. My name is Jim Cook. I'm your auctioneer this afternoon, and I bid you all a very very warm welcome. As to phone bidding, ladies and gentlemen, > we do have one registered interest on the phone this afternoon. > Straight into your hands, ladies and gentlemen. Who would like to call an opening bid or offer? Opening bid or offer anywhere? 300. 300, thank you, madam. > Out in the front here. It's 300,000 I have. It's 300,000 to beat. > Chris and Jo stake their claim with an entry-level offer, but amazingly, nobody seems to be responding. Another bidder is on the phone. The tension crackles as they wait for the counter-offer. Ladies and gentlemen, I'll move the bidding on myself on behalf of the owner. At 310 behalf of the owner. That's 310. 320 can I say? 310,000 with me. > 320. 320 here. 320,000. > We won't congratulate again at 320. How are we on the right now? 320,000 here. > But it seems Jo and Chris are the only ones putting their hands up today. At $320,000, first call at 320,000. Anyone else at 320,000? > Second time at $320,000. Chris and Jo can't believe it. 320,000 is 50,000 below the CV and would leave them $80,000 change from their budget. Could they be about to buy their dream home for a bargain price? Auckland is fast, furious and frustrating, and that's just the property market. House-hunter Ethan has rejected a city loft and a Glen Eden house. But in Massey, even further west, he's found a distinct possibility. Three beds, wooden floors, big section, so lots of privacy, and a CV of $390,000. Perfect? 'The sort of house that I really love, and the CV's low, 'and three bedrooms, a weatherboard, and just a simple layout and design and big backyard ` '465m2 of land area ` so it tick a lot of boxes.' Auckland house hunters must be prepared for a CV to be well below the eventual selling price. This house is going to auction, so to give himself a fighting chance, Ethan's upped his budget to $520,000 ` that's $130,000 over the valuation. It's insane, but so is the Auckland market. Most of the houses will sell maybe 100,000 over the CV, so if 390 you add 100,000. 490. That's perfect. (LAUGHS) This will be Ethan's first ever auction. He's determined to project confidence, even though inside he's a bag of nerves. It's like you're going for exam. You know, you have this anxiety. You are actually buying the biggest purchase of your life. But there's a little sense of hope that, mm, this house potentially I can actually get it. TENSE MUSIC Second time at $320,000. Back in Blenheim, Chris and Jo are almost over the line. So far nobody has met their bid of $320,000, but the auctioneer hasn't closed the deal. Ladies and gentlemen, I'm going to pause the auction. I'm going to seek instruction. I'll be right back to you. With bidding falling short of the reserve price, the auctioneer goes inside to talk to the vendor. Why did everybody else come? Sorry? (LAUGHS) What are they here for? A bit deflated. I was ready to, you know... Chris was ready to battle, but it's not over yet. They retire to the kitchen for a private negotiation. Behind closed doors, they learn their bid of $320,000 is well below the reserve price of $390,000. Time for bold action. JO: The auctioneer came back with their reserve price. From there, we did some negotiations, but we didn't want to bring it back out, because then obviously that opens a bid for everyone else. We didn't really want to take that chance. Will their powers of negotiation be enough to seal the deal? I do have breaking news for you. Mowat St has been sold. They've done it. Chris and Jo paid 388,000 ` just under the reserve price. Feels overwhelming. It's unbelievable. It's awesome. Yep, such a good feeling. After months of searching and endless discussions, they've learned the lessons and fought the odds ` a real cause for celebration. Pretty surreal. So I kind of just felt like we were standing in our own kitchen. Yeah, it was very cool. It was like, 'These people are now standing in my home.' So` Oh, our home, sorry. (LAUGHS) It's almost like a catharsis, like all the emotions are just... have been released, and now I can finally relax and never have to go to another open home, at least for the next decade. Yep. So I'm really happy about that. Aw, we made it. Yep. Next time ` At 470,000. Make it 80. Yes? Will Ethan triumph at auction? Holy moly. My heartbeat just going even faster. And active young couple Will and Grace... He's definitely the gay one. (LAUGHS) ...are keen to make adventure capital Queenstown their home. If we don't buy a house now, we'll probably never afford to buy a house in Queenstown. Copyright Able 2015