Local authorities are reportedly investigating after a pair of houses in the suburbs of Auckland, New Zealand changed hands five times in just four days.
The practice of flipping – the sale of a house at least twice in a year – has become an epidemic in New Zealand.
Stats from Corelogic show that in 2016, 1,831 Auckland properties changed hands twice or more, including 74 in just one month, according to a report from the Guardian.
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The two houses in Mangere Bridge, a suburb of Auckland, are just a sample of what is happening as the larger of the neighbouring homes nearly doubled in price in just six months, according to the New Zealand Herald.
The Victorian home was sold in Feb. 14, 2016 for $1.37 million CDN and went for $2.65 million on Aug. 8 to a real estate developer after being sold on Aug. 4 to a real estate speculator.
The neighbouring house, which sold for $821,296 in Dec. 2014, was sold for $1.94 million to the same developer after changing hands twice on Aug. 4. The developer plans to demolish both homes to build townhouses, according to the New Zealand Herald.
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Kevin Lampen-Smith, chief executive of the Real Estate Agents Authority, told the Guardian his agency is going to investigate the transactions.
“The natural question is if the property has been bought and sold a couple of times and the price keeps on going up, was the initial vendor looked after?,” Lampen-Smith asked.
“Any time transactions take place very quickly you have increased concern to make sure all parties are fully informed of the decisions they are making.”
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