The Colliers Capital Markets team have transacted over $1 billion of property this year, firmly establishing themselves as the leader in this sector of the New Zealand property market.
Key asset classes that have drawn interest in 2023 have been land, which has accounted for sales of around $200 million, and premium retail properties with an add-value offering.
Data released earlier in the year by MSCI Real Capital Analytics, the go-to universal data and analytics solution for global commercial real estate investing and transactions, noted Colliers had a 43 per cent market share on major investment transactions during the first half of 2023 with the nearest competitor at 22 per cent.
Colliers transacted more than $619 million of property during that period with the Capital Markets team contributing a range of notable deals.
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The team’s 2023 success followed on from a strong finish to 2022, which included the $240 million sale of 40 and 44 Bowen Street in Wellington that was led by Richard Kirke, International Sales Director of Capital Markets at Colliers.
Land deals in 2023 included the $68 million dollar sale of Spedding Road industrial precinct in Whenuapai, which was the original sale of the large-scale site that was successfully rezoned to Business – Light Industry earlier this year. The sale took approximately five years to negotiate.
Since that transaction, Colliers have taken the Spedding Road development to market and Property For Industry Limited announced in October that they had entered a conditional contract to acquire approximately 5.8ha of land at Spedding Road for $40.565 million.
Josh Coburn, Director of Site Sales and Capital Markets at Colliers, says industrial land remains in short supply across Auckland, driving continued demand.
“Land has reset itself from a price perspective to a level where buyers see value. The site at Spedding Road is the only bare industrial land available in the north and west of Auckland at such a scale,” Coburn says.
“From a residential development perspective, land that has potential for high-end apartments continues to receive strong interest, but these sites are generally located in affluent suburbs or offer prime waterfront views.”
Some of the retail properties transacted by the team have included a sale and leaseback to The Warehouse Group for The Warehouse at 100 Pah Road in Royal Oak, Auckland, which was keenly bid, a neighbourhood shopping centre in Stoddard Road in Mount Roskill for $36.76 million, and the Countdown in Māngere for $33 million.
There was also the Westgate Lifestyle shopping centre in West Auckland that sold for $85.7 million in April.
Blair Peterken, Director of Capital Markets at Colliers, says there were clear requirements for buyers when pursuing these assets.
“The opportunity to add value and either intensify the usage of the site or optimise the value from the property was a common theme,” Peterken says.
“The Countdown in Māngere was an excellent example given there was ancillary retail on the landholding.”
The medical sector has also proven popular and the sale of the Apollo Health & Wellness Centre on Auckland’s North Shore for $27.5 million drew strong interest in the market given it was a split-risk investment and medical facilities are expensive to develop from scratch.
Peter Herdson, National Director of Capital Markets at Colliers, who celebrated 30 years with the firm this month, says the team have signed a number of agency agreements to bring a broad range of properties to the market in early 2024 that will catch the eye of investors.
“With the alignment of expectations and the levelling of interest rates, we expect New Zealand will remain an attractive destination for local and international capital and foresee a rise in transaction volumes in the early stages of the new year,” Herdson says.
“Private buyers have emerged following a period of inactivity and purchasers can work out their pricing structures with better clarity as yields have stabilised.”
Article supplied by Colliers
