A vacant development site with a troubled history has sold for $6.9 million at a mortgagee sale.
The auction called by Colliers International for 29-31 Anzac Avenue, in Auckland CBD, saw 42 phone bids from nine registered bidders, in a further sign of increased developer demand for freehold sites in the city since the start of the Covid-19 crisis.
The 752sqm site was put up for sale by the first mortgagee after plans for a 16-level hotel failed to proceed. Earlier plans for an apartment development also foundered when the previous owner, Maritime Apartments, went into receivership.
Gareth Fraser, who leads Colliers's investment sales team, said the sale showed buyers were still willing to invest even though a level of uncertainty had returned to the economy.
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“Investors are making the most of the ongoing low interest rate environment, which continues to create favourable conditions for borrowers,” he said.
“There’s a clear opportunity to land bank while awaiting the next development cycle, which could potentially deliver long-term capital gains for those buyers who are active in the market now.”
Colliers director Tony Allsop, who marketed the property for sale with Fraser and colleague Matt Plowman, said bidders were undeterred by the site’s history.
“Freehold land in the heart of Auckland’s CBD is hard to come by, especially as a vacant development site. Investors are clearly banking on the future growth potential, while making the most of current lending conditions.”
The site is located on the western side of Anzac Avenue, near the corner of Beach Road, offering good access to Britomart and Commercial Bay.
The Business City Centre zoning allows for intensive development of up to 50 metres in height, with a wide range of permitted uses including residential, short-stay accommodation, office, retail or a mix of these. The site was consented for a gross floor area of 7,122sqm.
The sale of 29-31 Anzac Avenue follows some notable deals for development sites in the city. This week OneRoof reported that property development company Gibbons Co had paid $8.6 million for a 2525sqm section at 78 Orakei Road, Remuera. The deal was brokered by Ray White Commercial at the end of last year but went unconditional last week. Gibbons Co plans to build multiple luxury townhouses on the site.
78 Orakei Road, in Remuera, Auckland, was bought by a luxury property development company. Photo / Supplied
During lockdown, a 3.17ha property in nearby Upland Road sold for an undisclosed sum. The site of the former Caughey Preston rest home, which has a CV of $100 million, was sold to a developer for a comprehensive, master-planned residential project in a deal brokered by Colliers.
It's not just big sites that are selling. This week Barfoot and Thompson achieved $3.385 million at auction for a Blockhouse Bay property on 2428sqm. Zoned residential mixed housing suburban and with a CV of $1.9 million, the land will have new housing built on it.
Colliers said 29-31 Anzac Avenue was the fourth to sell under the hammer since Auckland’s return to Level 3 restrictions was announced. Two Onehunga properties sold on August 19, while a Mt Wellington property sold under the hammer a week earlier – only one hour before the lockdown came into force.
