North Shore units ideal for owner occupiers

An elevated view of adjoining Units L (16) and M (17) at 101-111 Diana Drive, Wairau Valley.

Two commercial units are for sale in the Wairau Valley on Auckland's North Shore in separate sales by two different vendors but with the units positioned next to each other in a 1980's commercial complex.

"For a North Shore owner-occupier, this sale could represent an ideal opportunity to relocate their business closer to home and cut down travel time," says Jaye Miller, specialist North Shore agent with JLL who is marketing the stratum in freehold Unit L (16) and Unit M (17) within the Diana Court commercial complex of 14 units at 101-111 Diana Drive.

"Under the Proposed Auckland Unitary Plan [PAUP] this site is zoned for Light Industry, which allows for activities including light manufacturing, production, logistics, storage, transport and distribution," says Miller.

He says Unit L (16) of 440sqm is for sale by negotiation. Three-quarters of the available space is a high-stud warehouse with roller doors and nine carparks, with the remainder fitted out as office space.

Unit L (16) is to be vacated by Sun's Motors.

"The occupier, Sun's Motors, is moving out and the property will be sold with vacant possession," Miller says. "This property is one unit back from the road, which makes it easy to access. It has been well maintained by the owner since early 2011 but would benefit from some modernisation."

Unit M (17) is a vacant 970sqm square unit and is for sale by private treaty.

Jaye Miller, JLL.

"This unit has an excellent configuration, road frontage and car parking. The 690sqm high stud warehouse has a seven-metre stud height and it has 280sqm of office space. There are roller doors on both the north-eastern and north-western sides of the building, allowing for drive-through potential," Miller says.

"We expect these properties to attract strong interest as there is a real shortage of investment stock in this area."

Unit M (17) within Diana Court is being sold with vacant possession.

He says the appeal of the Wairau Valley as a light industrial and commercial area is its easy access, both north and southbound, via the nearby State Highway 1 motorway. "This property is just 12km from downtown Auckland and 31km from Auckland Airport."

Miller says JLL is seeing a resurgence in the North Shore commercial and industrial market. "We've seen significant increases in value over the last 18 months, thanks to a variety of factors including low interest rates, low vacancy levels, huge owner-occupier demand and investment yields at an all-time low."

A demographic study of the Wairau Valley area by JLL Research & Consulting shows the population is wealthier than the New Zealand average. Purchasing power per capita is $29,431 in the study area, versus the $26,900 per capita average for New Zealand.