Rare A-grade industrial complex

Modern A-grade industrial complex at 13 Ha Crescent, Wiri.

An A-Grade property modern industrial complex is being offered for sale at 13 Ha Crescent, Wiri, in south Auckland at a time when the market is facing a scarcity of such high quality properties.

"The sale of this property on behalf of Stevens Ltd represents a rare opportunity to acquire a building of excellent quality in a strategic location," says Paul Steele, associate director or CBRE who, with colleagues Mark Bramwell and Scott Soroka, is marketing it for sale by deadline private treaty closing at 4 pm on Thursday October 30 unless it sells earlier by negotiation.

Steele says vacant possession will be available from February 2015, giving the buyer time to plan for relocation.

He says the supply of most A-grade commercial buildings is controlled and owned by larger institutions who typically don't sell them.

"There is very little stock available in Wiri at the moment and there is certainly nothing comparable to this offering," he says. "With few options available all owner occupiers and investors wishing to own prime industrial real estate in the heart of Wiri, close to good motorway connections and inland port, should take advantage of this outstanding market opportunity."

The property at 13 Ha Crescent comprises a 7786 sq m freehold site on which the buildings cover an area of 4996 sq m. This is made up of a 3671sq m warehouse with 10 metre clear span and three roller doors; 508 sq m of office space and an 818s q m drive-through canopy area.

"A mezzanine area could also be acquired by the purchaser, should they wish to do so," Steele says.

Bramwell says the property has an excellent level of specification. "It has good stud height and an in-situ racking layout, generous vehicle parking, wide manoeuvring areas and good site circulation. The site coverage is about 64 per cent including the canopy or 53 per cent without it."

With dual access from a 63 metre frontage onto both Roscommon Rd and Ha Crescent, the site is only 2 km from the State Highway 20 on/off ramp and has easy access to State Highway 1, Auckland Airport, CBD and the greater Auckland area.

Currently zoned Quarry under the Operative District Plan, the property is designated Light Industry under the Proposed Unitary Plan listing it as "light industry".

Soroka says the property is an established street in an up-and-coming industrial precinct with much of the areas developed in the late 1990s and throughout the 2000s.

"The purchaser of 13 Ha Crescent will be surrounded by quality neighbours including Croxley, Briscoes, Kiwi Steel and Cavalier Bremworth," he says.

Soroka says some owners in the vicinity, such as 33 Ha Crescent, have been successful in obtaining permission to use their sites for heavy industrial purposes, including dangerous goods storage.

Wiri and the area around Roscommon Road has been rapidly developed in recent years driven by a number of factors including improved transport links and a scarcity of industrial land supply.

"Occupiers are relocating to Wiri to take advantage of the improved motorway links, which will only improve further once the Waterview Connection is completed," Soroka says. "Another attraction is the Wiri inland port which is expecting a major increase in traffic with the opening of the rail link to Ports of Auckland this year."

Steele says industrial yields in Wiri have firmed during 2014.

"The industrial sector has kicked into higher gear over the past 18 months. In the past quarter, rents have experienced growth significantly above other sectors. In Auckland's prime industrial market, rents have risen substantially in the past two quarters and are now up 7.3 per cent over the past year."

"Prime industrial market yields are still firming, due to active investor interest amidst limited investment opportunities and a shortage of stock. The yields are being pushed by strong investor appetite and the banks have been keen to lend money, so there is a lot of competition now between owner occupiers and investors.

"New supply is struggling to meet demand and these conditions are set to last with a lot of pent-up post-election pressure for transactions to be completed prior to Christmas."

Steele says vacancy in Wiri decreased in the six months to June 2014 from 6.2 per cent to 5.7 per cent.

"Vacancy in Wiri is almost twice that in the rest of Auckland and currently represents around 18 per cent of the total vacant industrial stock monitored by CBRE. This is largely due to the concentration of larger format warehouses in this area and the migration of businesses from B-grade or C-Grade stock into A-Grade and new design builds. By way of example, Frucor Beverages recently moved into a new 17,000 sqm design build and took their previous 16,000 sqm building to the market.

The Wiri industrial market experienced positive net absorption in the six months to June 2014, with secondary grade properties having the greatest impact at positive 12,147 sqm since June 2013, Prime net absorption was over 70,000 sqm since June 2013.

CBRE says rental growth was observed along the quality spectrum in the Wiri market in the second half of 2014. Indicative net effective rents for prime properties increased around 4.4 per cent on average since December 2013 and are currently assessed at $109 per sq m. Secondary properties have increased to $79 per sq m, reflecting a growth rate of 13.3 per cent over the past 12 months.

"After a bit of a catch up, industrial rents in Wiri are now at similar levels to those generally within the wider Auckland region," Steele says.

Overall, indicative industrial yields in Wiri firmed in the first half of 2014. On an annual basis, prime yields have remained moved lower from 7.63 per cent in December 2013, to 7.25 per cent in June 2014. Secondary yields have firmed 75 basis points since the beginning of the year, and are assessed at 8.5 per cent. Both prime and secondary yields are firmer than those on average across Auckland.