Empty but full of opportunity

The warehouse complex in Wiri is being sold with vacant possession.

Warehouse with smart office in prime industrial location is ideal for logistics of manufacturing business, agents say

The property, at 260 Puhinui Rd, has a 3104sq m warehouse with a secure concrete yard on a large freehold site of 8051sq m near the southwestern State Highway 20 motorway interchange.

"A large warehouse facility with a minimum of office space and good motorway access makes this an excellent premises for a logistics or manufacturing operator," says Colliers International industrial broker Andrew Hooper, who is marketing the property with colleague Dwayne Warby. It will be sold by auction at 11am on Tuesday May 20 in Colliers' offices at Level 27, 151 Queen St in Auckland.

"Being vacant, we expect it will attract some of the growing number of owner-occupiers we have been seeing in the market in the past three months, who are looking to expand their business," Hooper says.

"It will also appeal to investors looking to refurbish and re-tenant the property."

Hooper says owner-occupiers and investors are looking at vacant warehouses with renewed interest.

"Small to-medium businesses are returning to the property market as increasing confidence in theeconomy translates into businessexpansion and commercial property activity."

Warby says the medium-stud warehouse has a 440sq m cantilevered canopy and extensive parking around the building.

Its 475sq m of office space has a high quality fit out and its Business 5 zoning permits a broad range of commercial and light industrial activities.

"The secure yard and attractive office space are highlights of this property, which is a significant land holding in a popular industrial district."

Warby says recent Colliers' auctions for vacant or near-vacant industrial properties have attracted multiple bidders as owner occupiers compete with investors for the limited stock of industrial properties within the $1 million to $6 million range in the south-central Auckland market.

"A year ago there was far less demand, but the market has really changed in the past few months," he says. "As their businesses expand, owner-occupiers are stepping up from renting to ownership. Investors are also feeling more confident, and while they might prefer a tenanted property, their risk tolerance has increased, and they are now considering vacant properties.

"The typical investor in this market has a portfolio in excess of $20 million with near 100 per cent occupancy and they are comfortable adding a property that needs a new tenant to the mix.

"Auckland industrial vacancy levels have fallen dramatically in the past two years to about 3.4 per cent from 5 per cent in 2012, and the recovery from the global financial crisis is putting pressure on existing stock. Investors now know they can readily re-tenant a vacant property."

Wiri is 6.5km from Auckland International Airport, and 3km east of the Manukau City Centre.

"Wiri is popular among large industrial owner-occupiers and is home to the distribution centres of some of New Zealand's best-known brand retailers like Dick Smith Electronics, the Warehouse, Briscoes and Cavalier Bremworth. It is also close to the labour pool suburbs of Papatoetoe, Otara and Mangere."

Warby says access from the property to the motorway is excellent.

"It is 700m from the Puhinui Rd SH20 interchange, giving quick access to the Airport district, and recent extensions to SH20 have reduced travel times to Puhinui Rd from all parts of Auckland."

Hooper says Wiri will benefit from Auckland Transport's project to connect Auckland International Airport with State Highway 16 along the Southwestern Motorway via the Waterview Connection, which will be completed by 2017.

"When the Waterview connection is finished it will complete the city's western ring route, providing dual access from Wiri to Auckland's CBD.

Warby says vendors are increasingly turning to auctions to sell their properties because of the strong demand.

"Serious vendors prefer auctions, as they are dealing with unconditional bids on the day, and in such an active market they are simply not considering conditional offers.

"Buyers also like the auction process for the transparency it creates. They can clearly see from the bidding at the auction how the market views the property in terms of pricing."