Colliers opens West Auckland commercial office

From left to right - Craig Smith, Sean Finnegan, Michael Bray, Deborah Dowling, Charles Cooper, Brad Visser, Greg Goldfinch, Amanda Hunter, and Dhiru Patel.

Colliers International has opened the doors to its new West Auckland commercial office within the NorthWest Shopping Centre in the Westgate Town Centre.

"It's the first and only dedicated commercial property company to be located in West Auckland," says Deborah Dowling, who heads up the agency's West Auckland division comprising five other brokers and two support staff.

"We have already been very active in West Auckland since the team's formation early last year - working out of the company's Auckland CBD headquarters," Dowling says. "However, the establishment of this office signifies the company's dedication to the area.

"Our investment sales and industrial brokers have covered the West Auckland market for several years but our establishment of a permanent dedicated physical presence with a high performing team providing cross-sector brokerage services is an important step."

Dowling says West Auckland's growth has been phenomenal.

"In 2014 there was $183 million of commercial property sold in West Auckland across all agencies. Last year Colliers' brokers alone sold more than $253 million of commercial property in the area.

"West Auckland is Auckland's fastest growing region, and off the back of a lack of commercial and residential development land in Central Auckland and North Shore, the market is growing at an unprecedented rate."

West Auckland has about 80,000 sq m of office space coupled with increasing tenant demand, Dowling says.

"There is also about 1.3 million square metres of industrial space in West Auckland with an all-time low vacancy rate of 2.2 per cent.

"The region has also been undersupplied by retail space for a number of years, although it has received a significant boost with the development of the NorthWest Shopping Centre and the Hobsonville retail developments in recent years."

Infrastructure developments will also have a positive impact on the commercial property sector in the area, she says.

"The new $1.4 billion State Highway 20 Waterview Connection will be the final link for the Western Ring Route and will enhance the main arterial network connection by reducing congestion, travel time and dependency on State Highway 1.

"This means West Auckland will have significantly improved connections with the North Shore and Manukau City, which will have a positive impact on commercial property in the area."

Charles Cooper, Auckland managing director for Colliers, says the decision to open the new office was driven out of sheer demand for Colliers' services and the need to address a clear gap in the market in the West Auckland area.

He says Dowling was selected to head the new division due to her experience and tenacity as a broker. "She has built a successful track record as an investment sales and leasing broker since joining Colliers in 2005 and won our Auction Broker of the Year award in 2014," he says.

Cooper says a key area of growth is in the company's investment sales team across all its Auckland offices as a vital link with the retail, industrial, leasing, and capital markets teams.

"We expect this physical presence into West Auckland will enhance that interaction and productivity. The establishment of the new division completes, for now, Colliers' coverage across the Auckland market."