ALL but one of nine properties on offer at the Park Village multiproperty auction at the Inanda Country Club on Wednesday were sold and confirmed.

“Prices were much better than our last auction, which could be for a number of reasons. There were more buyers on Wednesday and perhaps we had better stock this time.

“Commercial property did well and overall I was very happy with the results,” auctioneer Roy Lazarus said.

The last lot, a liquidation sale, was a ding-dong battle between a number of bidders. Bidding opened at R8m and moved up quickly as new bidders came in, and previous bidders who had stepped aside for a while, re-entered the fray.

In the end the hammer came down on a price of R15m which was confirmed by the liquidator at the auction.

The property, a five-storey office block with a ground floor retail component at 480 Smith Street, Durban is a well-known landmark. It offers rentable accommodation of 6017m², earns an income of R129000 a month.

Two other properties, one belonging to a deceased estate and the other a liquidation sale, attracted keen bidding.

Bidding for the three-storey building on a 496m² stand on Jeppestown opened at R600000, attaining a closing bid of R1,3m. The liquidation sale of large warehouse on a 7169m² stand in Wadeville sold for R7,9m.

Zoned for industrial one purposes, the complex offers factory and warehouse accommodation and an office wing.

Two properties in Kew were offered. A commercial building on a 3000m² stand on 12th Road attained a hammer price of R1,3m, subject to confirmation. An 880m² office building on Second Avenue was sold and confirmed for R1,75m.

In Yeoville a block of six flats on a 495m² stand sold for R950000, and a building with full business rights and offices in Eastleigh, Edenvale for R800000.

Source: Business Day