Around the block: Orange Hall sells

Orange Hall, on a 1727sq m site in three titles at 143-149 Newton Rd, Newton has been sold vacant for $1.6 million through Bill Fenton and Harold McCracken of Bayleys Auckland. Built in the early 1920s, the 1050sq m building was at the centre of Auckland's dance scene. It was sold to a private Auckland trust.

Rothesay Bay retail

A 287sq m suburban retail investment property on a 698sq m site, on the corner of Lyons Ave and Beach Rd in Rothesay Bay, attracted multiple bidders at a Bayleys Total Property auction before selling for $1.06 million at a 7 per cent yield through Brian Caldwell and Christina Heaven of Bayleys North Shore Commercial. The building is occupied by a wine bar and hair salon on four-year leases until 2014.

New Harcourts office

Harcourts' franchise Strategic Real Estate has opened a new office at 2 Woodbine Rd, just off Great South Rd, Greenlane, so it can expand its property management business and add a boutique sales division. Owners Graham Peterson and Bob Stubbs say their move to relocate to the Harcourts' Greenlane franchise from Ellerslie will enable them to offer both property investors and tenants a "complete package of real estate services". The new office has a team of 14, primarily focused on property management, but the plan is to build a small team of sales consultants who specialise in marketing and sales of investment properties.

English Corner Shop

A 731sq m warehouse and showroom building on a 1349sq m site at 60 Victoria St, Onehunga, which was featured in Bayleys Total Property portfolio, has sold for $730,000 at a 9 per cent yield through James Hill of Bayleys Auckland. It has a six-year lease from September 2009 to the English Corner Shop, which specialises in British food and beverages, with two 3-year rights of renewal.