Most bids for Albany cafe at Bayleys auction

A truck service and repair centre at 13 Vernon St, Papakura, sold for $1.75m. Photo / Supplied

Bayleys achieved a 75 per cent clearance rate at its latest Total Property auction in Auckland with six out of eight commercial and industrial offerings selling.

Five properties sold under the hammer with the sixth selling shortly after the auction's conclusion. That property, a 2071sq m Business-Mixed Use zoned site at 13 Vernon St, Papakura, sold for $1.75m — a hefty premium on its pass in price of $1.3m.

Marketed by Piyush Kumar, Peter Migounoff and Dave Stanley, the property has most recently been used a truck service and repair centre and came with two workshops totaling 573sq m.

It was sold with vacant possession and a three-month settlement to an owner-occupier.

Generating the most bidding at the auction was a 90sq m cafe in a high profile corner of a retail complex in Albany, marketed by Laurie Burt and Eddie Zhong. Bidding on Unit 6, 56 Apollo Dr on the corner with Arrenway Dr, started at $750,000.

It was declared on the market by auctioneer Richard Valintine at just over $900,000, meaning it had exceeded its reserve price.

A long sequence of bids from three competing parties then followed, with many $1000 increases, before the hammer finally came down at $991,000. This represented a 4.99 per cent yield on the $49,500 of net annual rental income currently being generated on its six-year lease to Duck Duck Goose cafe.

This 90sq m corner cafe at 56 Apollo Dr (identified by a red border) generated the most bids. Photo / Supplied

The cafe has been in occupation since the complex, comprising 13 retail units, a childcare centre and 73 common carparks, was completed in 2016 by Kea Property Group.

Another unit titled of in Albany, Unit B 12 Parkhead Pl in the North Harbour Industrial Estate fetched the highest price of the day. The 627sq m industrial premises plus 12 car parks sold with vacant possession for $1,945,000 through Matt Mimmack and Laurie Burt. Built in 2005, the property has 394sq m of warehousing accessed by three roller doors, with a (non-structural) "speed wall" dividing it into two tenancies. These tenancies include separate two-level, air-conditioned offices, which both have their own amenities.

Bayleys commercial auctioneer Richard Valintine says while the number of properties being auctioned this year is down on last year, they are still achieving higher clearance rates than other methods of sale.

"Buyers have also found it harder to obtain bank funding to be able to bid unconditionally at auction. However, despite these challenges we are still getting very good results for our vendors and a lot of buyers prefer the transparency of the auction process because they know exactly where their competition is and how much they are willing to pay.

Unit B at 12 Parkhead Place sold for $1,945,000. Photo / Supplied

"It means we are having to work a bit harder to get some offerings across the line but at the end of the day that's what a real estate agency is there for."

Other properties to go under the hammer, were:

• Unit 5, 160 Wairau Rd, Wairau Valley: A 59sq m rear unit in the Wairau Junction Retail Centre, which had a major refurbishment four years ago, sold for $415,000 at a 6.02 per cent yield through Matt Lee and Terry Kim. It is leased to Indian takeaway Spice Cuisine for 10 years from 2013 with two five-year rights of renewal.
• 35B Saleyards Rd, Otahuhu: A 426 sq m industrial building, comprising four units on a 994sq m site sold for $1,031,000 at a 6.28 per cent yield through Tony Chaudhary and Nelson Raines. It is fully leased to three tenants all on two-year lease terms.
• 25 Station Rd, Manurewa: A 550 sq m two-level retail and office building with four tenants on a 334sq m site sold for $1.25m at a 5.74 per cent yield through Shane Snijder and Dave Stanley. It was put for sale by overseas vendors who had owned it for more than 30 years.
Regional properties to sell at Bayleys' latest round of Total Property auctions will be featured in Recent Deals.