Sale of $15m industrial property one of Hawke's Bay's biggest in many years

96 Austin St sold for a total of $15.620m and is one of the largest industrial sales Hawke's Bay has seen for many years. Photo / Supplied

The sale of a $15 million commercial site in is set to kick off another strong year for the commercial property market in Hawke's Bay, according to local commercial real estate agent Danny Blair.

96 Austin St has just sold for a total of $15.6m, one of the largest industrial sales Hawke's Bay has seen for many years under both leasehold and freehold.

FPG (Future Products Group), a world-leading food display and retail solutions business based in Hawke's Bay have been leasing the property since 2000 and have just signed a new 10-year lease with the new owners.

Commercial real estate agent with Colliers Hawke's Bay Danny Blair says the sale starts a strong year for commercial sales, freed from the bind of the discussion around Capital Gains Tax.

"Starting with such a strong base to grow from, with over $138m in commercial property sold in 2018, up from $116m the previous year, we knew 2019 would be off to a flying start, but CGT discussions did look to muddy the outlook of the year."

Blair said data from Statistics New Zealand, ASB Bank and research entity Infometrics all showed a fairly consistent pattern in their assessment of the region's economic prosperity.

"They all showed a rise in Hawke's Bay's population, GDP, employment, the number of businesses, agricultural outputs, construction activity, household income and retail spending.

"Not only has the many positive indicators provided ongoing confidence, it has translated into higher property sales turnover and supported steady leasing activity in the region."

Blair said that significant investment in both infrastructure and construction over the next few years would bring new growth opportunities for Hawke's Bay.

The latest Commercial Property Investor Confidence Survey, released in March, showed a net positive 22 per cent of respondents expected investment conditions to get better over the next 12 months.

Napier/Hastings had a standout result with a net positive 24 per cent – the highest on record since the survey began almost a decade ago.

Blair says that all signs were that Hawke's Bay's commercial property market was "one of the most confident markets in New Zealand".