Character building sets bar at auction

This standalone character building at 10 High St fetched $2.7 million at a Bayleys auction. Photo / Supplied

A stand-alone character High St building in Auckland's CBD fetched the highest price at Bayleys' latest Total Property auction and was one of 11 properties valued at $12.9 million in total to sell at or before the auction.

Marketed by Millie Liang of Bayleys Auckland, the seven-level retail and office building, constructed in the 1920s at 10 High St sold for $2.7 million at a 5.6 per cent yield after attracting strong bidding and being pronounced "on the market" at just over $2.6 million.

The property was bought by an American telephone bidder. Stuart Bode of Bayleys Auckland says the purchaser already owns a holiday home in Central Otago and has also been looking at a number of investment opportunities in New Zealand.

The 541sq m building on a 106sq m site is fully leased with multiple tenancies including Overland Footwear, Carats Jewellers and a mix of office tenants. It has 126sq m of ground-floor retail space and associated basement storage, plus five 83sq m levels of office accommodation.

Liang says the property attracted strong interest because of its prime position in High St in the heart of Auckland's boutique fashion retail and cafe precinct.

"It's in a sought-after area where property tends to be tightly held with little coming on the market.

"There also aren't many good-quality, smaller, stand-alone CBD buildings in an affordable price range like this one."

Also attracting strong interest at the Total Property auction were two retail units in the Lincoln North Shopping Centre, on the corner of Lincoln Rd and Universal Drive, Henderson, which both sold at low yields at a total of $1.769 million through James Chan and Cameron Melhuish, Bayleys Auckland.

A 150sq m unit with a nine-year lease from March 2010 to Lincoln Mall Pharmacy, which also has an ATM machine, sold for $1,030,000 at a 6.5 per cent yield.

A 90sq m unit with a nine-year lease from April 2010 to a St Pierre's Sushi of Japan outlet sold for $760,000 at a 5.8 per cent yield.

The outlets are within a reconfigured unit that was tenanted by a restaurant and bar and were offered for sale separately for the first time.

Chan says the units were offered for lease last year as bare shells and the strength of their high-profile corner location in the busy Lincoln North centre meant long-term leases could be secured.

The popular 707sq m Happy Days buffet restaurant on a 1999sq m site at 898A Great South Rd, Manukau, with substantial exposure to the busy arterial road, also generated multiple bidding before selling for $1,935,000 at an 8 per cent yield.

It was sold by Shane Snijder and John Bolton of Bayleys Manukau, in conjunction with Nicolas Ching of Bayleys Auckland.

The building includes a 581sq m restaurant and bar, a 37sq m casino area with 18 gaming machines and 89sq m of first-floor office space. It comes with 70 on-site parking spaces and a 15-year lease from March 2011 to a new management company.

A Dargaville building with a new nine-year lease in place to Westpac sold at the auction to an Auckland investor for $1,055,000 at a 6.7 per cent yield.

Ross Blomfield, of Bayleys Whangarei, who marketed the property at 76 Victoria St in conjunction with Andrew Blomfield, says it attracted a lot of interest from both Northland and Auckland investors because of its long-term lease to a major bank.

"We worked with the Bayleys Auckland sales teams to ensure that the property got as much exposure as possible and one of the buyers they introduced ended up being the successful bidder."

The Blomfields found and negotiated a lease over the premises for Westpac when the bank indicated it wanted to move into the Northland town for the first time to take advantage of the opportunities presented by its new 24/7 banking service.

Westpac indicated the move was to take advantage of the growing horticulture and agriculture economy in the area and Northland at large, and was a show of confidence in the region, Ross Blomfield said.

Originally Onstructed in the 1980s, the extensively renovated 477sq m premises were fitted out by Westpac six months ago at a cost of more than $1 million, giving it a modern facade, banking chamber and offices.