Southern View: September 21, 2023

4
Thursday September 21 2023
Godwits
return
heralds
spring
THE BAR-TAILED godwits
have touched down on the Avon-
Heathcote Ihutai Estuary, landing
earlier than usual.
The first newly arriving birds
were spotted on September 9 by
local ornithologist Grahame Bell,
who was checking on the birds at
the request of the city council.
Bell reported a flock of 290
birds, with some still showing
vestiges of red breeding plumage
– which they usually moult prior
to departure from the Arctic.
The birds landed after a six-toeight
day non-stop flight covering
a distance of 11,700km from the
Yukon river delta in Alaska.
City council parks ecologist
Andrew Crossland said this was
the second earliest arrival on
record, two days later than last
year.
“Over the next few weeks
another 1000+ godwits are
expected to arrive on the estuary,”
he said.
“We can also expect additional
flocks of 200-400 arriving
elsewhere in the Christchurch
area at each of the Brooklands
Lagoon, Lyttelton Harbour and
Lake Ellesmere.”
Plenty of competition and
banter at house auction
• From page 1
“They wish to get into the
psyche of their competitors by
making them seem that they are
supremely confident and have
bottomless budgets,” said Patton.
But the young couple held
strong and was the last remaining
bidder when the auction
paused at $1.56 million for
negotiation. The auction then
resumed and was announced on
the market at $1.58m, which is
what it sold for.
Patton said the five-bedroom,
three-bathroom home on a large
1599 sq m section attracted
plenty of interest with about 100
groups viewing it during the
auction campaign run by Bayleys
agents Adam Heazlewood
and Jessica Phibbs.
It was a similar situation for
a large family home on Dyers
Pass Rd, which attracted young
couples and mums and dads
when it was called at Harcourts
Holmwood auction rooms.
The four-bedroom, twobathroom
home, which was
marketed for the first time in 30
years by Harcourts listing agents
Jack and Steven Marshall, had
150 groups through its open
homes and attracted secondhome
buyers.
FAMILY HOME: Owner-occupiers showed plenty of
interest in the Dyers Pass Rd house. PHOTOS: NZ HERALD
Mark
McGoldrick
Harcourts
auctioneer Mark
McGoldrick
said: “There
were about half
a dozen bidders
on that and a real
good ding dong.”
Bids got down
to small increments
of $500
and $100,000, he said. It was
announced on the market at
$1.16m and buyers kept trying to
outbid each other until the hammer
swung down at $1.256m.
“There was a lot of banter and
things, it was quite fun.”
Meanwhile, a neglected property
on Hoon Hay Rd desperate
for some TLC after it had been
empty for a year also attracted
several bidders at the Bayleys
auction.
The five-bedroom, twobathroom
home on a large 1239
sq m was sold on an “as is where
is” basis due to years of deferred
maintenance.
Bayleys listing agent Duncan
An ‘as is, where is’ property
on Hoon Hay Rd sold
under the hammer for
$650,000.
Absolum marketed the property
at developers, investors or anyone
prepared to put in the hard
work to bring it up to scratch.
Photographs of the property
show trees encroaching on the
front half of the house.
More than four bidders
competed for the five-bedroom
home. Bidding opened at
$450,000, it paused at $575,000
before coming back on the
market and selling for $650,000
– more than $300,000 less than
its RV.
Harcourts Grenadier also
saw plenty of competition for
at auction with an “as is, where
is” property on Poulson St, in
Addington, selling for $610,000
after six bidders battled it out.
– NZ Herald
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