Auction opportunities in wide portfolio

One of the feature investment properties for auction is a strip of retail outlets at Three Kings.

Barfoot & Thompson Commercial has released its second Insite commercial property portfolio for the year comprising 46 properties spread throughout the Auckland region plus one in the Waikato.

"A feature of this portfolio is that it contains 19 auction opportunities and one tender property with the balance being a mixture of sale and lease opportunities," says John Urlich, commercial operations manager for Barfoot & Thompson Commercial.

"This attractive offering should particularly appeal to individual investors with a variety of retail, office and industrial properties up to the $5 million mark."

One of the feature investment properties in the portfolio is a strip of retail outlets at 1 Hayr Rd, Three Kings, which is being marketed by Craig Newth and Nicole Hou for auction at 1pm on August 16 in the agency's city auction rooms on Level 4, 50 Kitchener St, in the Auckland CBD.

"This sale presents an investment opportunity to own nine shops and a workroom on one title on a prominent corner site opposite the shopping centre on Mt Albert Road," says Newth.

"It has a good multiple tenant mix, which spreads the investment risk, with some long-standing tenants including a bakery, laundromat, dairy, computer outlet, kebab shop, travel agency and Number Works maths tuition agency."

Newth says the freehold Business 1 zoned property comprises a land area of 956sq m with a wide frontage of over 61 metres to Hayr Rd and over 11 metres to Dornwell Rd with a total building area of 838sq m.

The site is a rectangular lot with good exposure to the arterial route of Mt Albert Rd and also has attractive southwest views from the upper tenancies.

"The current net income is $221,160 plus GST, but with one tenancy now vacant, it has a potential net income with full occupancy of $236,160," says Newth. "The tenancies also benefit from low rents ranging from $15,000 to $30,000 per annum."

The shops were originally constructed in the 1950s and further refurbishments were carried out including extensions providing two second level tenancies at either end of the building.

The refurbishments included fire rating some inter-tenancy divisions to allow for possible conversion to unit title ownership in the future.

"This property is in a very convenient location close to a shopping centre, on major transport routes and serves a dense surrounding residential population," Newth says.

Closer to Auckland City, Newth has a second retail property for sale at 401-403 Parnell Rd which will also go under the hammer in the same auction.

"This is a great opportunity to purchase an original property known as Marriott's Building in a prominent position in one of Auckland's most prestigious shopping areas," Newth says. "This is a genuine family sale being offered to the market for the first time since the early 1970s and offers steady cash flow from two established tenants as well as future development potential. The two tenants, a fashion shop and hairdresser, are well established and suited to the location."

The free-standing building with a net lettable floor area of 128sq m is on a freehold land area of 336sq m and generates current net rental of $86,976 plus GST.

"The land is a near rectangular shape with a good frontage to the top of Parnell Road and an easterly aspect near the traffic lights at St Stephens Rd and the Anglican Church," Newth says. A third retail property being offered for sale in the August 16 auction, but this time by Murray Tomlinson and Luke Richardson, is another multi-tenanted building at 309-313 Botany Rd, Botany.

The Business 1 zoned, 344.1sq m building, occupying a freehold high-profile 1235sq m corner site on the western side of Botany Rd, is currently generating annual rent of $134,666 per annum plus GST.

"The building was constructed about 2002," Tomlinson says. "It is a modern, good quality retail block, built as a single structure and divided by inter-tenancy walls into three separate retail tenancies."

The property sits on the north-western corner of the three-lane, light controlled, Botany Rd, Golflands Drive and Tarnica Rd intersection.

Immediately to the north of the building is a mix of similar style strip retail outlets including Liquorland, Bike Barn and United Video.

Further along is Kings Plant Barn, Fruitworld and the East Care Medical Centre while less than a kilometre north is the Pakuranga Golf and Country Club.

For sale at another auction on August 1, but also at Barfoot & Thompson's City Commercial office, is a multi-tenanted 1920s building on a 321sq m site on the corner of Trafalgar St and Onehunga Mall, which is being marketed by Cam Paterson.

"This freehold property at 163 Trafalgar St, Onehunga, comprises a mix of eight commercial and residential tenancies returning $136,300 net," Paterson says. "It's on a prominent sunny north-facing site on a busy arterial route and offers a purchaser excellent income security from a number of tenancies with the option of home and income occupation."

"Situated on the corner of Trafalgar Street and Onehunga Mall, it also has a strong profile to the substantial passing trade and easy access to residents and customers," Paterson says.

"The street level is divided into five tenancies being a mixture of residential and commercial tenancies. The upper level, accessed from the street, is divided into three residential tenancies."

Paterson says the current rental is subject to change. "The residential use of the ground floor retail area is more a function of the economic times than a long-term proposition."

Urlich says commercial properties at below $5 million are likely to return a greater level of capital gain as the population growth and scarcity of development land in Auckland makes local retail-commercial blocks great strategic investments for the future.

He says Barfoot & Thompson Commercial has reported "a robust start" to the year having achieved a wide range and number of transactions for a diverse range of clients.

"We've sold buildings on Queen Street, and our last auction day was highly successful with keen bidding achieving results that, in some instances, surpassed the vendors' highest expectations. We've sold small and large industrial buildings and are continuously leasing properties throughout the Auckland region.

"It's worth noting that, with all the ongoing uncertainty in the global economy, our market appears to be moving on with confidence. The banks are playing their part in this increased level of activity as well. We have seen numerous funding packages offered, to secure low-risk investors with low debt levels, enabling them to buy properties on some of the most advantageous funding rates that we have seen. We are starting to see developers looking for opportunities and dusting off their old plans."