He noted that both the buyers and the under-bidder had missed on previous properties, adding that the former had been house-hunting for more than a year.
Harcourts Grenadier in Christchurch also noted an uptick in pre-auction offers in recent months.
A lot of that demand seemed to be from outside Christchurch, with one agent commenting to him this week that out-of-town buyers accounted for 20% to 50% of their enquiries.